Landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:
- living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape.
- natural elements such as landforms, terrain shape and elevation, or bodies of water; and
- abstract elements such as the weather and lighting conditions.
Landscaping requires expertise in horticulture and artistic design.
Understanding the land
Construction requires study and observation. It is not the same in different parts of the world. Landscaping varies according to different regions.[1] Therefore, normally local natural experts are recommended if it is done for the first time. Understanding of the site is one of the chief essentials for successful landscaping. Different natural features like terrain, topography, soil qualities, prevailing winds, depth of the frost line, and the system of native flora and fauna must be taken into account.[2] Sometimes the land is not fit for landscaping. In order to landscape it, the land must be reshaped. This reshaping of land is called grading.[2]
Removal of earth from the land is called cutting while when earth is added to the slope, it is called filling. Sometimes the grading process may involve removal of excessive waste (landfills), soil and rocks, so designers should take into account while in the planning stage.[3][4]
Tools
In the start, the landscaping contractor makes a letter which is a rough design and layout of what could be done with the land in order to achieve the desired outcome.[2] Different pencils are required to make graphics of the picture. Landscaping has become more technological than natural, as few projects begin without bulldozers, lawnmowers, or chainsaws.[1] Different areas have different qualities of plants. Fertilizers are required for this purpose in excess amounts as natural landscaping is done. Some landscapers prefer to use mix gravel with rocks of varying sizes to add interest in large areas.[5]
Lufkin
Lufkin is a city in and the county seat of Angelina County in eastern Texas, United States.[3] This city is 120 miles (190 km) northeast of Houston. Founded in 1882, the population was 35,067 at the 2010 census.[4]
Lufkin is situated in Deep East Texas.
The city is named for Abraham P. Lufkin, a cotton merchant and Galveston city councilman. Lufkin was the father-in-law of Paul Bremond, president of the Houston, East and West Texas Railway which developed the town.
In 1906 while living in Lufkin, writer Katherine Anne Porter married her first husband John Henry Koontze in a double ring ceremony that also saw her sister Gay Porter marry T.H. Holloway. The minister who presided over the ceremony was Rev. Ira Bryce, serving at the time at Lufkin’s First Methodist Church.
In 1907 Allan Shivers the 37th Governor of Texas was born in Lufkin. He served as governor from 1949 to 1957.
Debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster fell over the Lufkin area on February 1, 2003.
Lufkin celebrated its 125th anniversary in October 2007.