Which result has garden colonies in the center for good-working city? What is the consequence of garden colonies for human? Activation of those areas for creation healthy and comfortable city for life.

Nature, as the major consideration of the Organic Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, has constantly been favored as a path for a pure soul to communicate with the spiritual. Inspired by Wright's Organic Architecture and Traditional Chinese Garden, this thesis celebrates the beauty of Nature in Pandapas Pond, Giles County, VA, where a "Water Garden" is created on the open space defined by its water. Formally, the whole garden complex takes the inspiration from lotus flowers floating on the water, which could be thought of as an "organic system of architecture." / Master of Architecture

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Community gardens play a valuable role in creating places where people can socialize; share knowledge, experiences, and mutual interests; and improve food security. As previous research has shown, effective leadership is a prerequisite to community building in garden programs. However, relatively little research to date has examined the types of leadership and leadership practices that exist and work in community garden settings, and even less has focused on the role of leadership in facilitating social interactions and relationship building. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of leadership practices related to community building in the context of community gardens by exploring various stakeholders' perspectives on leadership. The primary purpose of this research was to: 1) explore knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding community building in different types of community gardens; 2) obtain a better understanding of stakeholders' views on leadership competencies and roles; 3) examine how informal leadership emerges and develops; and 4) identify how organizational structures and managerial schemes influence leadership practices and performance. Building upon transformational and adaptive leadership theories, this research focuses on the interactive process whereby leaders and various actors mutually influence each other to meet individual as well as organizational goals. This study employed a two-phase research design. The first phase consisted of collecting quantitative data through self-administered surveys from five groups of stakeholders – garden coordinators, executive directors, gardeners, representatives of allied organizations, and non-gardening neighbors – in four Virginia community garden programs located in Blacksburg, Salem, and Roanoke. The second phase entailed conducting semi-structured interviews with 21 participants and using cross-case analysis to interpret the results. The comparative case study included four community gardens characterized by different organizational structures and ties to their adjacent communities. The findings indicated that leadership performs an overarching role not only in fulfilling a garden program's mission, but also in facilitating social interactions and trust-based relationships between garden members and with wider communities. Good leadership practices in the context of community gardens implied engaging in inclusive and transparent communications with different entities on a regular basis and attending to the needs and motivations of each member. This study also shed light on the value of dedicated informal leaders to facilitate a garden's social function and to take on the maintenance and supervision of hands-on tasks on-site. Comparative analysis of the four cases revealed that different characteristics inherent to the community gardens, such as whether they are place-based or interest-based and whether their governance structure is formally or informally driven, are closely related to the leadership approaches that constitute best practices. These findings have implications for practitioners who organize and manage community organizations in a broader context, as well as community garden programs. / Doctor of Philosophy / Community gardens are places where people socialize and cultivate relationships, in addition to growing food. Even though leadership plays a major role in enhancing these functions, relatively little research to date focuses on leadership in the context of community gardens. This study reveals leadership practices related to social interactions and relationship building. This study also explored diverse experiences and opinions about leadership competencies and roles from the perspectives of garden coordinators, executive directors, gardeners, representatives of allied organizations, and non-gardening neighbors. To compare and contrast leadership practices in diverse types of programs, four community gardens were selected, each representing a different organizational structure and ties to their adjacent communities. 100 people involved in four Virginia community garden programs located in Blacksburg, Salem, and Roanoke completed surveys. 21 people of these respondents were interviewed to gain further information. The findings indicated that leadership performs an overarching role not only in fulfilling a garden program's mission, but also in facilitating social interactions and trust-based relationships with garden members and wider communities. Good leadership practices in the context of community gardens indicated engaging in inclusive and transparent communications with different entities on a regular basis and attending to the needs and motivations of each member. This study also shed light on the value of dedicated informal leaders to facilitate a garden's social function and to take on the maintenance and supervision of hands-on tasks on-site. Comparative analysis of the four cases revealed that different characteristics inherent to the community gardens, such as whether they are place-based or interest-based and whether their governance structure is formally or informally driven, are closely related to the leadership approaches that constitute best practices. These findings have implications for practitioners who organize and manage community organizations in a broader context, as well as community garden programs.

We live in an increasingly urbanized world as people migrate to cities for employment and cultural benefits. Growing and dense urban populations contribute heavily to water pollution and energy waste contributing to global biodiversity extinction. At the same time, contemporary urban areas deliver diminishing returns to residents as cities become cramped, unhealthy, and unattractive. The rooftops of urban buildings offer exciting opportunities for remedying these trends. New rooftop designs highlight the need for more plant life and green space in urban areas, improve energy efficiency, and offer urban residents gardens to enjoy and relax in. Rooftops can enhance buildings in urban areas through landscape design, transforming neglected space into valuable real estate that provides ecological and economic services. Well designed rooftops can enhance property values, assist with primary on-site storm water management, help build energy efficiency, mitigate the urban hear island effect, and filter air and water. A good green roof exists in symbiosis with its neighbors and the city at large. Contemporary rooftop design strives for an ethical stewardship of the earth. I have chosen to design a green roof around the aesthetics and traditions of Japanese horticulture. Japanese landscape design evolved to maximize space and create intricate gardens in small areas and is deep in symbolism and ritual upkeep. / Master of Landscape Architecture

As pollinator populations decline globally, public interest in creating pollinator gardens to help sustain bee abundance and diversity is rising, and there are many lists of recommended pollinator plantings and suggestions for bee-friendly flowers. However, these suggestions often lack grounding in empirical data. While anecdotal and expert suggestions are not without merit, it is crucial that we have clear, replicable, evidence-based planting recommendations to help boost the abundance and diversity of pollinators that will visit the plants. To fill this gap, we created a pollinator garden containing 25 pollinator plantings, some on previous recommendation lists, some not, and that were either native or non-native and perennial or annual. We surveyed the number and taxonomy of pollinator visitors to these plants through non-destructive methods. These data were analyzed to determine which plants are most effective at attracting abundant and diverse flower-visiting insects. We analyzed preference between native and non-native plants, perennials and annuals, and among different plant species. Our data revealed significant variation in the total abundance and diversity of flower-visiting attracted insects among plant species. Brown-eyed Susans attracted the highest abundance of insect visitors (average number of visitors per day = 53) and were 26-fold more attractive than Begonias, which attracted the lowest abundance of insect visitors (average number of visitors per day = 2). Lavender attracted the highest diversity of insect visitors (Simpson's Reciprocal Diversity Score: 3.5) compared to Pineapple Sage (Simpson's Reciprocal Diversity Score: 1.6), which attracted the lowest diversity of insect visitors. Additionally, we found that native perennials significantly attracted the greatest abundance of visitors compared to either non-native annuals or non-native perennials (p < 0.001). We conclude that ornamental landscape plants can support an abundance and diversity of pollinator visitors, and planting schemes should take into consideration the effects of plant species, plant lifespan, and plant origin. We can use these data to better inform the regional community how to attract and support abundant and diverse pollinator populations within urban and sub-urban ornamental landscape gardens. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / Many people want to build gardens with flowers that are attractive to pollinators, which can be bees, flies, butterflies, moths, and other insects. How, though, do we know what should be planted in that garden? Anyone with access to a computer can find lists of recommended plants for a pollinator garden, and they are provided by a variety of sources. However, the plants included on these lists are often not the same. Some lists may claim a handful of plants are the most attractive to pollinators, while another list will suggest different plants as the most attractive. In addition, these lists often are not based on scientific evidence. Our goal was to use these recommendations to build a pollinator garden so that we can collect data on the plants and determine which plants are best in our garden at attracting insect pollinators. We created a pollinator garden that includes 25 of popular landscape plants, many of which are found on lists of current plant recommendation lists. Then we let the plants grow and bloom, and during the summer, we counted and identified the different species of insects found on each plant. We then ranked plants, from best to worst, at their ability to attract insects and pollinators in numbers and in diversity. Additionally, we found that insects are generally more likely to visit plants that are native to the region. Using this information, we can share our results with the public so that anyone can build their own pollinator garden that will be the most attractive to pollinators.

An architect draws from a deep repository of past memories made durable in the act of architecture. This thesis is a study of the analogous relationship between a childhood memory of a garden and a set of architectural acts giving form to this memory. The ideas of threshold, meander, focus, and framing are the basic conditions of the project. Perspectives and montages are the primary methods of study. The project is a garden placed within the context of an imagined city setting up the interplay of silence amidst the cacophony of the city. It centers around a singular tree, informed by a specific childhood memory. The single tree in concert with the architectural conditions allows one to resist the inexorable rush of urban time. / Master of Architecture / An architect draws from memories of the past to inform the future. This thesis is a study that pulls from memories of a childhood garden and compares them to a set of basic architectural elements. The ideas of threshold, meander, focus, and framing are explored.

This project began as a critique of the current notions of "green" architecture. It grew into the creation of a system for integrating nature with structure, the organic with the constructed. A grand entry for the Highline Park on the lower Westside of Manhattan is used as a means for generating a domain which plants, specifically hanging ivy, could thrive. Simple elements such as columns, cables, stairs and ramps, can become a means for creating immersive living volumes, fostering instances where nature can conquer construction. / Master of Architecture

Investigation and research into the Persian Gardens, leading this project into a step that these World Heritage Sites might have been known as sustainable construction, but the fact that water scarcity of their region is a serious threaten for all these amazing Gardens. Thus, enhancing and improving these gardens by merging, adding and adapting todays technologies can make them considered as constructions with water and energy conservation design. Based on nowadays world environment concerns, recognizing renewable and non-renewable sources of energies in a region or site can cause a miracle. Since, almost all Persian Gardens located in regions with arid and semi-arid climate, water poverty as a biggest issue and nonrenewable energy should be included as a problematic concern. There are many available active and passive strategies that can be applied in these heritage sites which decrease water consumption either directly or indirectly. Such as water harvesting, greywater reuse, photovoltaic panels and material changes. Water known as a vital element of each garden for irrigation purposes, but in Persian Garden water is more than a functional element. Thus, finding a way to provide and recycle water beside the underground sources is necessary. Subterranean, springs and wells are resources of water for Persian gardens which renew so slowly or non-renew these days. Being so close to a city with considerable population lunches and idea of using greywater for irrigation in these gardens. In this research, the doable options for energy conservation design for these sites will be discussed, then comparing some case studies in all over world where greywater reusing water system for irrigation is happening will be next step. In conclusion, greywater reusing system in urban scale in order to irrigate a filed or garden will be investigate on a Shazdeh Garden as a main case study of this research.