Whispering Palms Community Services District gets new hedge

By Kathy McHenry

The Whispering Palms Community Services District (WPCSD) is the governmental agency responsible for the landscaping along Via De La Valle and Cancha De Golf for the Whispering Palms Community. As part of the district’s ongoing landscape improvement plan, the district recently removed the long row of dead Oleanders along Via de la Valle, adjacent to Hole #4 of the Morgan Run Golf Course North Course.

The removal revealed a new screening hedge of Texas Privet that was planted in July 2011, at a cost of $35,000. This project was funded from the WPCSD Landscape Improvement District, which receives its funding from a portion of the state-wide annual property tax revenues.

The Oleanders, which had been in place for 40 years, had become infected with leaf scorch caused by an insect called the glassy-winged sharpshooter. This leaf scorch also caused the removal of 13 Olive trees in the landscaped parkway between Via De La Valle and Via Valle Verde. Native California Pepper trees were installed to replace the dying Olive trees at an additional cost of $15,000.

Phase II of the screening hedge and beautification project will take place in the near future and will replace and supplement the Oleanders along Via De La Valle south of the community monument wall sign, at a cost of approximately $21,000. The project will also include the installation of new irrigation lines and the removal of some dead Oleanders and Eucalyptus trees.

These efforts are part of the continuing landscape beautification program that the WPCSD has been responsible for since its inception in 1987. The district also provides sewage collection and treatment services for the residents within its boundaries, which encompasses 2,615 acres and serves over 1,300 homes and businesses.