Landscaping and Turf Management Edit page

The Cromwell Station Homeowners Association (HOA) maintains a professional landscaping contract to ensure the upkeep and aesthetic of our community’s common areas. This page is designed to help residents understand the specific scope of our landscaping agreement and the recurring services provided to the community.

Contracted Services

• Mowing and Trimming: All common area turf is mowed approximately 26 times per season (April 15 to November 15). This service includes the removal of minor debris from the grass prior to mowing and string-trimming around trees, signs, and permanent fixtures.
• Edging: Common area walkways and curbs are mechanically edged approximately 13 times per season to maintain a clean and defined appearance.
• Weed Control (Beds and Curbs): Ornamental beds, tree rings, and curb lines receive weed control treatments approximately 13 times per season.
• Shrub and Tree Pruning: Pruning is performed three times per year for shrubs and ornamental trees located within common area beds. This service is limited to trees under 15 feet in height.
• Spring Cleanup: An annual service performed to remove leaves and accumulated winter debris from all common area grass and parking lots.
• Spring Mulching: All community shrub and tree beds are edged and mulched once per year using double-shredded hardwood mulch.
• Annual Flowers: The contract includes two seasonal installations: summer annuals in the spring and pansies in the fall.
• Fall Leaf Removal: Leaves and small debris are collected and removed from common area turf, beds, and parking lots twice each fall.
• Rain Garden Maintenance: The three community rain gardens receive an annual comprehensive cleanup, including weeding, debris removal, and mulching.

Service Areas and Property Boundaries

To ensure our landscaping contractor accurately maintains the community, the Board provides the contractor with a detailed property map. This map, which you can view below, identifies common turf and landscaped beds marked in green. Community rain gardens are marked in red. 

The property lines shown on this map are based on official Baltimore County property records. These boundaries are pulled from the Baltimore County MyNeighborhood GIS system using 2017 satellite imagery as a basemap. This map is the primary tool used to guide our landscaping team, but it may not perfectly reflect every edge or natural boundary in the field. Forest growth has changed significantly since this basemap was created. 

Furthermore, it is important to understand that not all Association-owned property is intended to be maintained as manicured turf. Significant portions of our community acreage consist of wooded buffers and natural conservation areas which are intentionally left in their natural state to support local ecology, reforestation, and drainage. 

If you have feedback regarding the map or questions about a specific boundary, please contact [email protected].

Specific Maintenance Responsibilities

There are some specific areas within our neighborhood that require clarification regarding who is responsible for their upkeep:

The Verge (Sidewalk Strips) The verge is the strip of grass located between the sidewalk and the street directly adjacent to homes. These areas are the responsibility of the individual homeowner whose property they border. This responsibility is similar to the requirement for homeowners to clear snow from the sidewalks adjacent to their homes. While our former contractor previously mowed some of these areas, this was not part of their contract and is not included in the current agreement. Please ensure these strips are mowed and maintained as part of your regular lawn care.

Maintenance boundaries are determined by legal property lines and safe equipment access. If your side yard borders a sidewalk directly, please include that outer grass strip in your regular mowing routine. To view your individual property lines, click to enlarge the map posted above. 

Parking Island Bump-outs The “bump-outs” are the small, landscaped or grass islands located within the community parking areas. The Board has elected to include maintaining their turf in the Association’s landscaping contract. Unlike the verge strips, these islands serve as essential common-use areas for the community, housing shared infrastructure such as cluster mailboxes, electrical transformers, and designated trash collection points. To ensure these utility areas remain accessible and properly maintained for all residents, the HOA manages their grass upkeep.