Home & Garden - WebTripleT.com

Garden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form is known as a residential garden. Western gardens are almost universally based around plants. Zoos, which display wild animals in simulated natural habitats, were formerly called zoological gardens. Some traditional types of eastern gardens, such as Zen gardens, use plants sparsely or not at all. Food-producing gardens are distinguished from farms by their smaller scale, more labor-intensive methods, and their purpose (enjoyment of a hobby rather than produce for sale). The gardening article discusses the differences and similarities between gardens and farms in greater detail.
Gardening is the activity of growing and maintaining the garden. This work is done by an amateur or professional gardener. A gardener might also work in a non-garden setting, such as a park, a roadside embankment, or other public space. Landscape architecture is a related professional activity with landscape architects tending to specialise in design for public and corporate clients.

Gardens Around the World
A very big garden in Canada.
A flower garden in Lisse, Netherlands
Part of a garden in Bristol, England
A flower bed in the gardens of Bristol Zoo, England
Checkered flower bed in Tours, France
A flower garden
Zen garden at Ryoan-ji
The garden of a Japanese Buddhist temple
French formal garden in the Loire Valley
Contents
1 Garden planning and design
2 Elements of a garden
3 Uses for the garden space
4 Types of gardens
5 History of gardens
6 Gardens in literature

Garden planning and design
Garden planning and garden design may be undertaken by a professional. A landscape architect is a professional who can plan and realise outdoor spaces. A garden designer is usually trained to plan and realise residential gardens. The planner must give consideration to many factors:
Purpose
Existing conditions
Financial constraints
Maintenance implications
Elements of a garden
The elements of a garden consist of natural conditions and materials, as well as man-made elements:
Natural conditions and materials:
Soil
Rocks
Light conditions
Wind
Precipitation
Air quality
Pollution
Proximity to ocean (salinity)
Plant materials
Man-made elements:
Terrace, patio, deck
Paths
Lighting
Raised beds
Outdoor art/sculpture, such as Gazebos
Pool, water garden, or other water elements

Uses for the garden space
A garden can have many purposes� aesthetic, functional, and recreational. Uses for the garden space are:
Cooperation with nature
Plant cultivation
Observance of nature
Bird- and insect-watching
Reflection on the changing seasons
Relaxation
Family dinners on the terrace
Children playing in the yard
Reading and relaxing in the hammock
Maintaining the flowerbeds
Pottering in the shed
Basking in warm sunshine
Escaping oppressive sunlight and heat
Growing useful produce
Flowers to cut and bring inside for indoor beauty
Fresh herbs and vegetables for cooking

Types of gardens
Gardens may feature a particular plant or plant type:
Cactus garden
Fernery
Herb garden
Lawn
Orangery
Orchard
Rose garden
White garden
Wildflower garden
Gardens may feature a particular style or aesthetic:
Alpine or rock garden
Bonsai or miniature garden
Chinese garden
Tropical garden
Formal garden
Geometric garden
Informal garden
Japanese garden
Zen garden
Naturalistic garden
Water garden
Wild garden
Gardens may function in a particular manner:
Botanical garden
Community garden
Cottage garden
Cutting garden
Forest garden
Sacred garden
Raised bed gardening
Residential garden
Roof garden
Square foot garden
Vertical garden
Water or soil-less gardening (hydroponics)
Walled garden
Windowbox
Zoological garden

History of gardens
See history of gardens page.

Gardens in literature
The Garden of Eden
Romance of the Rose
Nathaniel Hawthorne's short-story "Rappaccini's Daughter"
Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera La Finta Giardiniera

Other similar spaces
Other outdoor spaces that are similar to gardens include:
A landscape is an outdoor space of a larger scale, natural or designed, usually unenclosed and considered from a distance.
A park is a planned outdoor space, usually enclosed ('imparked') and of a larger size. Public parks are for public use.
An arboretum is a planned outdoor space, usually large, for the display and study of trees.
A farm or orchard is for the production of food stuff.
A botanical garden is a type of garden where plants are grown both for scientific purposes and for the enjoyment and education of visitors.
A zoological garden, or zoo for short, is a place where wild animals are cared for and exhibited to the public.

For more information on Garden, please visit Wikipedia.

Landscape architecture
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Landscape architecture is the art, planning, design, management, preservation and rehabilitation of the land and the design of man-made constructs. The scope of the profession includes architectural design, site planning, estate development, environmental restoration, town or urban planning, urban design, parks and recreation planning, regional planning, and historic preservation. A practitioner in the field of landscape architecture is called a landscape architect.

Central Park, like all parks, is an example of landscape architecture.Contents
1 What is Landscape Architecture?
2 Specializations Within Landscape Architecture
3 History
4 Profession
5 See also
6 External links
7 Landscape architecture organizations
7.1 International landscape architecture organisations
7.2 National landscape architecture professional bodies
7.2.1 Americas
7.2.2 Europe
7.2.3 Asia Pacific
7.2.4 Africa

What is Landscape Architecture?
Activities of a landscape architect can range from the creation of parks and greenways to the site planning for corporate office buildings, from the design of residential estates to the design of civil infastructure and the management of large wilderness areas or reclamation of degraded landscapes such as mines or landfills.
Landscape architects work on all types of external space -- large or small, urban or rural, and with 'hard'/'soft' materials, hydrology and ecological issues. They work on:
The form, scale and siting of new developments
The civil design and public infrastructure
The site design for schools, universities, hospitals and hotels
Public parks, greenways, golf courses, theme parks and sports facilities
Housing areas, industrial parks and commercial developments
Highways transportation structures, bridges and corridors
Urban design, town and city squares and pedestrian schemes
Large or small urban regeneration schemes
Forest, tourist or historic landscapes and historic garden appraisal and conservation studies
Reservoirs, dams, power stations, extractive industry applications or major industrial projects
Environmental assessment and Landscape assessment, planning advice and land management proposals.
Coastal and offshore developments
The most valuable contribution is often made at the earliest stage of a project in generating ideas and bringing flair and creativity to the use of space. The landscape architect can contribute to the overall concept and prepare an initial master plan, from which detailed designs can subsequently be prepared. He or she can also let and supervise contracts for construction work, prepare design impact assessments, conduct environmental assessments or audits and act as an expert witness at enquiries on land use. He or she can also support or prepare applications for capital or revenue funding grants.
For the period before 1800 (see section on History, below) the history of landscape architecture is largely that of garden design. The first person to write of 'making' a landscape was Joseph Addison (in 1712). The term 'landscape gardener' was invented by William Shenstone (in 1754) but the first professional designer to use this term was Humphry Repton (in 1794). The term 'landscape architecture' was invented by Gilbert Laing Meason in 1828 and was first used as a professional title by Frederick Law Olmsted (in 1863). Lancelot Brown, who remains one of the best known 'landscape gardeners' actually called himself a 'place maker'. During the nineteenth century the term 'landscape gardener' became applied to people who build (and sometimes design) landscapes and the term 'landscape architect' became reserved for people who design (and sometimes build) landscapes. This use of 'landscape architect' became established after the American Society of Landscape Architects was founded in 1899 and the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) in 1948.

Specializations Within Landscape Architecture
Landscape designers and Landscape technicans or engineers are employed with landscape construction and service companies. Landscape designers, like garden designers, design all types of planting and green spaces. Many landscape engineers work in public offices in central and local government while others work for landscape architecture firms.
Landscape managers use their knowledge of plants and the natural environment to advise on the long-term care and development of the landscape. Landscape managers work in horticulture, estate management, forestry, nature conservation and agriculture.
Landscape scientists have specialist skills such as soil science, hydrology, geomorphology or botany that they relate to the practical problems of landscape work. Their projects can range from site surveys to the ecological assessment of broad areas for planning or management purposes. They may also report on the impact of development or the importance of particular species in a given area.
Landscape planners are concerned with landscape planning for the location, scenic, ecological and recreational aspects of urban, rural and coastal land use. Their work is embodied in written statements of policy and strategy, and their remit includes masterplanning for new developments, landscape evaluations and assessments, and preparing countryside management or policy plans. Some may also apply an additional specialism such as landscape archaeology or law to the process of landscape planning.
Garden designers are concerned with the design of new private gardens and also with historic garden conservation

History
The Muskauer Park on the German-Polish border is inscribed on the World Heritage List on the basis of its importance for "the development of landscape architecture as a discipline".Main article: History of landscape architecture
The history of landscape architecture is related to the history of gardening but is not coextensive. Both arts are concerned with the composition of planting, landform, water, paving and other structures but:
garden design is essentially concerned with enclosed private space (parks, gardens etc)
landscape design is concerned with the design of enclosed space, as well as unenclosed space which is open to the public (town squares, country parks, park systems, greenways etc).
The Romans undertook landscape architecture on an extensive scale, and Vitruvius wrote on many topics (eg the layout of towns) which still concern landscape architects. As with the other arts, it was not until the Renaissance that garden design was revived, with outstanding examples including the pleasure grounds at the Villa d'Este, Tivoli. The renaissance garden developed through the 16th and 17th centuries, reaching an ultimate grandeur in the work of Andr� le N�tre at Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles.
In the 18th Century, England became the focus of a new style of landscape design. Figures such as William Kent, Humphrey Repton, and most famously Lancelot 'Capability' Brown remodelled the great estate parks of the English gentry to resemble a neat and tidy version of nature. Many of these parks remain today. The term 'landscape architecture' was first used by the Scotsman Gilbert Laing Meason in the title of his book on The Landscape Architecture of the Great Painters of Italy (London, 1828). It was about the type of architecture found in landscape paintings. The term 'landscape architecture' was then taken up by JC Loudon and AJ Downing.
Through the 19th century, urban planning became more important, and it was the combination of modern planning with the tradition of landscape gardening that gave Landscape Architecture its unique focus. In the second half of the century, Frederick Law Olmsted completed a series of parks which continue to have a huge influence on the practices of Landscape Architecture today. Among these were Central Park in New York, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and Boston's so called Emerald Necklace park system.
Landscape Architecture continues to develop as a design discipline, and has responded to many of the movements of design and architecture through the 20th century. Today, a healthy level of innovation continues to provide challenging design solutions for streetscapes, parks and gardens. The work of Martha Schwartz in the US, and in Europe designs such as the Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam are just two examples.

Profession
Landscape architects are considered professionals on par with architects, engineers, doctors and lawyers, because they are usually required to obtain similarly specialized education and professional licensure. In many countries, a professional institute, comprised of members of the professional community, exists in order to protect the standing of the profession and promote its interests, and sometimes also regulate the practice of landscape architecture. The standard and strength of legal regulations governing landscape architecture practice varies from nation to nation, with some requiring licensure in order to practice; and some having little or no regulation. In the United States, Landscape Architecture is regulated by individual state governments, some requiring no regulation at all. For a landscape architect, obtaining licensure or membership of a professional institute requires advanced education and/or continuing training and work experience. Full membership or licensure often depends on the outcome of examinations in professional practice matters, and/or an interview with senior members of the profession. In the U.S. licensing is overseen both at the state level, and nationally by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registation Boards (CLARB).

For more information on Landscaping, please visit Wikipedia.

Pet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pets and humans often contribute toward the happiness of the other in a pet relationship. Having a pet or being a pet can promote a longer, happier life.A pet is an animal that is kept (mostly by humans) for companionship and enjoyment, as opposed to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic reasons or to perform specific jobs. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics or for their attractive appearance or song. Pets can provide their owners with many health benefits. The keeping of pets has been shown to help remove stress. Walking a dog can also provide its owner (as well as the dog) with exercise, fresh air, and the opportunity for social interaction.
While in theory one could keep any animal as a pet, in practice a small number of species of mammals, especially dogs and cats, and other small animals, such as birds, have dominated the list of species kept as pets for a very long time. Fish have joined them more recently. Many of these animals are domesticated, while others, such as reptiles, are often considered exotic pets. The glofish, a genetically modified zebrafish with a bright red fluorescent color, is the first genetically modified (GM) animal to be engineered as a pet.
The captive gorilla Koko is one of few examples of a non-human animal which has had a pet. Koko's first pet was a kitten named All Ball.
A pet can be acquired from a pet store, an animal shelter, a breeder, and sometimes from people who have extras due to births. See also Dog adoption.
Sometimes people treat their pets like they are children, especially when the people do not have children or their children are grown up.

Contents
1 Terminology
2 Common pet species
2.1 Mammals
2.2 Birds
2.3 Reptiles
2.4 Amphibians
2.5 Fish
2.6 Arthropods
2.7 Mollusks
2.8 Rocks

Terminology
Some animal welfare organisations have proposed that the term "companion animal" be used instead of "pet".
The term "pet" may also be applied to humans, usually in an endearing way by a lover, significant other, or partner. Calling another person a pet, though, can just as easily be considered an insult (see "plaything").

Common pet species

Mammals
Horses
Dogs
Cats
Rodents, including hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, gerbils, chinchillas, degus, flying squirrels and rats
Rabbits
Ferrets
Fennecs
Hedgehogs
Goats
Alpacas
small pigs
Monkeys
Donkeys
Birds
Budgerigars (parakeets)
Cockatoos
Macaws
other parrot species
Canaries and other finch species
Doves
Cockatiels
Ducks
Reptiles
Tortoises
Lizards
Iguanas
Snakes
Turtles
Crocodilians, including alligators, crocodiles, caimans, gavials (can usually be kept as pets only when they are young)
Amphibians
Frogs
Toads
Salamanders
Newts
Caecilian, a wormlike amphibian that lives underground
Axolotls, a large kind of Newt which remains in its larval stage

Fish
Further information: Aquarium

Arthropods
Ants
Crickets
Tarantulas
Emperor scorpions
Millipedes
Roaches
Sea Monkeys (a type of brine shrimp)

Mollusks
Octupi
See also: Aquarium
Cuttlefish
See also: Aquarium

Rocks
Pet rocks (a type of toy treated as an actual pet)
Live Rock (Rock with microorganisms and small mullosks within, used in salt water aquariums.

For more information on pets, please visit Wikipedia

Apartment
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An apartment estate in Singapore; such blocks make up the majority of public housing in Singapore.
Borj-e Sefid apartments in Tehran, IranAn apartment (or flat in Britain and most other Commonwealth countries) is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building. Apartments may be owned (by an owner-occupier) or rented (by tenants).
Some apartment-dwellers own their apartments, either as co-ops, in which the residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or in condominiums, whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the public spaces. Most apartments are in buildings designed for the purpose, but large older houses are sometimes divided into apartments. The word apartment connotes a residential unit or section in a building. Apartment building owners, lessors, or managers often use the more general word units to refer to apartments. Units can be used to refer to rental business suites as well as residential apartments. When there is no tenant occupying an apartment, the lessor is said to have a vacancy. For apartment lessors, each vacancy represents a loss of income from rent-paying tenants for the time the apartment is vacant (i. e., unoccupied). Lessors' objectives are often to minimize the vacancy rate for their units. The owner of the apartment typically transfers possession to the occupant(s) by giving him/her the key to the apartment entrance door(s) and any other keys need to live there, such as a common key to the building or any other common areas, and an individual unit mailbox key. When the occupant(s) move out, these keys should typically be returned to the owner.

Apartment types and characteristics
Luxury apartment buildings in Gurgaon, Delhi metropolitan areaApartments can be classified into several types. Studio or efficiency or bachelor apartments tend to be the smallest apartments with the cheapest rents in a given area. These kinds of apartment usually consist mainly of a large room which is the living, dining, and bedroom combined. There are usually kitchen facilities as part of this central room, but the bathroom is its own smaller separate room. In the UK and Ireland, a roughly equivalent term is bed-sit (bedroom and sitting-room combined). Moving up from the efficiencies are one-bedroom apartments where one bedroom is a separate room from the rest of the apartment. Then there are two-bedroom, three-bedroom, etc. apartments. Small apartments often have only one entrance/exit. Large apartments often have two entrances/exits, perhaps a door in the front and another in the back. Depending on the building design, the entrance/exit doors may be directly to the outside or to a common area inside, such as a hallway. Depending on location, apartments may be available for rent furnished with furniture or unfurnished into which a tenant usually moves in with his/her own furniture. Permanent carpeting is often included in an apartment.
Laundry facilities are usually kept in a separate area accessible to all the tenants in the building. Depending on when the building was built and the design of the building, utilities such as water, heating, and electric may be common for all the apartments in the building or separate for each apartment and billed separately to each tenant. Outlets for connection to telephones are typically included in apartments. Telephone service is optional and is practically always billed separately from the rent payments. Cable television and similar amenities are extra also. Parking space(s), air conditioner, and extra storage space may or may not be included with an apartment. Rental leases often limit the maximum number of people who can reside in each apartment. On or around the ground floor of the apartment building, a series of mailboxes are typically kept in a location accessible to the public and, thus, to the mailman too. Every unit typically gets its own mailbox with individual keys to it. Some very large apartment buildings with a full-time staff may take mail from the mailman and provide mail-sorting service. Near the mailboxes or some other location accessible by outsiders, there may be a buzzer (equivalent to a doorbell) for each individual unit. In smaller apartment buildings such as two- or three-flats, or even four-flats, garbage is often disposed of in trash containers similar to those used at houses. In larger buildings, garbage is often collected in a common trash bin or dumpster. For cleanliness or minimizing noise, many lessors will place restrictions on tenants regarding keeping pets in an apartment.
In some parts of the world, the word apartment is used generally to refer to a new purpose-built self-contained residential unit in a building, whereas the word flat means a converted self-contained unit in an older building. An industrial, warehouse, or commercial space converted to an apartment is commonly called a loft.
When part of a house is converted for the ostensible use of a landlord's family member, the unit may be known as an in-law apartment or granny flat, though these (sometimes illegally) created units are often occupied by ordinary renters rather than family members.
Staying in privately owned apartments rather than in a hotel is quickly becoming popular with travellers.

For more information on Apartment, please visit Wikipedia.

Renting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good owned by another person or company. Examples:
Housing tenure, where the person who lives in the house is a tenant, paying rent to the landlord, who owns the property.
The renting of motion pictures on VHS or DVD, of audio CDs, of computer programs on CD-ROM.
Renting transport equipment, such as an automobile, boat, or bicycle.
Renting somewhat specialized tools, such as a chainsaw, or something more substantial, such as a forklift.
Renting a beach chair and umbrella.
In various degrees, renting can involve buying services for various amounts of time, such as staying in a hotel, using a computer in an Internet cafe, or riding in a taxicab.
Reasons for renting rather than buying include:
Renting is tax attractive � in places like Spain, Australia, and the United States � it is deductible as a business expense (if the property is used in a trade or business: rent on a dwelling is not tax deductible).
Financial inadequacy, such as renting a house when one is unable to buy it.
A product is needed only temporarily, as in the case of a special tool or a truck.
Need for a similar product that is already owned but not in close proximity, such as renting an automobile or bicycle when away on a trip.
Needing a cheaper alternative to buying, such as renting a movie: a person is unwilling to pay the full price for a movie, so they rent it for a lesser price, but give up the chance to view it again later.
Some merchants have rent-to-own (also called lease-purchase) programs, usually for expensive items such as houses or appliances.
As seen from the examples, some rented goods are used on the spot, but usually they are taken along; to help guarantee that they are brought back, one or more of the following applies:
one shows an identity document
one signs a contract; any damage already present when renting may be noted down to avoid that the renter is blamed for it when the good is returned
one pays a deposit (also used for paying for small damage)
Sometimes the risk that the good is kept is reduced by it being a special model or having signs on it than can not easily be removed, making it obvious that it is owned by the rental company; this is especially effective for goods used in public places, but even when used at home it may help due to social control.
If a person or business regularly rents goods from a particular company, they often have an account, which reduces the administrative procedure on each occasion.
Signing out books from a library could be considered renting when there is a fee per book. However the term lending is more common.

For more information on Rent, please visit Wikipedia.