William Shenstone's reputation has been dependent upon parts. He has been seen as a tasteful gardener who wrote verse, or as a poet who was also a landscape gardener. Until now, no one has studied his gardening, his daily activities, and his poetry as equal. expressions of one basic aesthetic view--the purpose of the present study.The Leasowes, Shenstone’s parental estate, became a popular tourist attraction during the early part of the century. There, tourists were able to leave their coaches and walk upon gravelled paths through "improved" nature. The paths followed the contours of his land, and Shenstone added small adornments like seats, urns, and statues. However, the Leasowes was a marked contrast to formal gardens of his time: Shenstone allowed no conspicuous display of his art.As a man retired from ambition but not from usefulness, Shenstone became an exemplar of "taste," a quality inherent in a select few, but with an ethical proviso. The tasteful man was able not only to live a genteel life, but was also obligated to act benevolently. These beliefs upon which Shenstone acted were derived from neo-Platonic philosophy, most notably that of the Earl of Shafteshury. The tasteful ran of the time was able to express his talents in various social and artistic ways. Shenstone, not surprisingly, became instrumental in editing Robert Podsley's final three volumes of his Miscellany, and he would probably have been named co-editor with Thomas Percy in the Reliques had death not prevented him.Shenstone cannot be considered a major poet not only because his other activities kept him from writing any massive number of works, but also because the good poetry he did produce was quite limited. He seemed, once past his apprentice state, never to be able to develop a unique voice combined with consistent artistic excellence. In short, his reputation as a poet must depend upon a relatively small canon and upon an even smaller number of verses that can he called poetry.Throughout his life, William Shenstone was concerned with art. It is not too much to say that he so merged art and life that, for him, the two could not he separated: his daily activities became minor productions and he strove for simplicity in art. Shenstone's aesthetic view was not original, but it was eclectic. He was fully aware of classical traditions, but he also knew the major aestheticians of his age--Shaftesbury, Addison, Hutcheson, Hume, Purke, anca Gerard. Shenstone's basic aesthetic--that the best art is that which conceals itself--was applied consistently to everything that he produced.

Tao Yuen Ting, Josephine. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2009-2010, design report." / "May 2010." / Includes bibliographical references (p. [86-87]). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1.0 --- synopsis : site background . the urbanization procedure? . compelling factors for an alternate urbanization . farming an opportunity . hypothesis --- p.6 / Chapter 2.0 --- research : farming in social potential . farming in energy potential . farming in water potential . farming practice . cases study . density study --- p.22 / Chapter 3.0 --- site design : site criteria . retaining the local farming entities . layout strategy . optimizing building with farming --- p.46 / Chapter 4.0 --- building design : massing component . compositiong strategy --- p.62 / Chapter 5.0 --- bibliography : --- p.86

Since 2008, the United States (USA) has resettled thousands of Bhutanese refugees, providing brief financial support and pathways to citizenship. Despite the efforts of governing bodies and voluntary agencies which facilitate resettlement, many refugees struggle with adapting to the vastly different lifestyle, economy, language and social structures. In particular, effectively addressing psychological needs of this population is a challenge for service providers operating within an expensive health care system based on Western constructs of mental health. In response to this challenge, refugee resettlement agencies throughout the country use community gardens to promote psychological healing, self-sufficiency, community engagement, and a return of human dignity. Though success of these programs is being shared in the media, there has yet to be empirical data examining their impact. The current study tested whether Bhutanese refugee engagement in a community garden impacts symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD and somatic complaints. The study also investigated whether community gardening is associated with perceptions of social support and adjustment to life in the United States. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected from 50 adult Bhutanese refugees in Fort Worth, Texas. Gardening was significantly related to increased social support overall, a key factor in overall functionality within communal cultures; and specifically perceived tangible support was increased. A significant effect of gardening was also found for adjustment. Although a significant effect was not found for psychological and somatic symptoms, there is still evidence of effects on somatic complaints. Varying results from quantitative and qualitative data warrant further investigation into the nuanced work of clinical research and advocacy with refugee populations.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Horticulture)) --University of Limpopo, 2022 / Worldwide, water scarcity, land degradation and unavailability of agricultural lands have posed serious threats on food security and income generation. Hunger, micronutrient deficiencies and starvation are likely to go up in Africa due to increasing urbanisation and rise in global food prices. As a result, it is important to identify innovative vegetable growing-based strategies, which can increase access to food by utilising the limited space available in rural and urban areas. Therefore, sack gardening technology could be a solution to both the lack of arable land and water scarcity in urban and rural areas. The objective of the study was to determine whether axillary bud number will have an effect on agronomic parameters and yield of sweet potato cv. 'Blesbok' produced using the sack gardening technology. Treatments, namely, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 number of axillary buds per stem cutting, were arranged in randomised complete block design, with 10 replicates. One bud (1) was used as a control. Different stem cuttings measuring from 10 to 30 cm long with approximately one (1) to six (6) axillary buds were collected from mature sweet potato plantation at a certified nursery from cv. 'Blesbok'. A total of eight (8) stem cuttings were planted in sacks consisting of growing media mixture of steam pasteurised loam soil and compost (3:1 v/v), 4 on top side of the sack and the remaining four on the side-holes of the sack. Insect pests were scouted and monitored weekly, while diseases were managed using spraying programmes as in commercial sweet potato production systems. Two weeks after transplanting, each plant was fertilised with 5 g nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) 2:3:2 (26) + 0.5% Zinc (Zn) + 5% sulphur (S) and 5% calcium (Ca). Number of axillary buds had significant effects on vine length, fresh shoot mass, number of shoots and dry shoot mass contributing 59%, 58%, 45% and 58% in total treatment variation (TTV), respectively, whereas axillary bud numbers had no significant effects on fresh tuberous root mass, chlorophyll content, vine stem diameter, tuberous root diameter, tuberous root length, dry tuberous root mass and number of tuberous roots. Relative to control (one bud), two (2), three (3), four (4), five (5) number of axillary buds decreased vine length, fresh shoot mass and dry shoot mass by 8-37, 30-55 and 26-55%, respectively. However, relative to control (one bud), number of axillary buds increased number of shoots by 8-17%. The quadratic relationship models were explained by 95, 92, 96 and 98% of vine length (VL), number of shoots (NS), fresh shoot mass (FSM) and dry shoot mass (DSM), respectively. In conclusion, findings of the study demonstrated that a single (1) or two (2) axillary bud(s) on stem cuttings of sweet potato CV. „Blesbok‟ showed better results for both yield and growth parameters as compared to three (3), four (4) and five (5) buds. / AgriSETA

School garden programs have become increasingly popular for their diverse, positive benefits. School gardens are often promoted as a relatively low cost means to offer hands-on learning opportunities that may foster academic achievement, particularly in the sciences, however only six studies have been published on the impact of garden education programs on science achievement. Five out of six of these studies focused on elementary age students. One study has identified motivational engagement as the mechanism responsible for fostering academic success. School gardens are more common in elementary schools. However, they may be most beneficial in a secondary school setting, when students tend to lose interest in academics and often perform poorly on national assessments of science. Thus, in this study we evaluated adolescent students at three schools with well-established garden education programs. We used pre-test and post-test measures to see how students' levels of various predictors of engagement (e.g. autonomy, competence, relatedness, and intrinsic motivation), actual engagement (in the realms of academics, science, and the garden), garden learning, and academic achievement measures (e.g. overall grade point average and science grade point average) would change over the course of this study. We also assessed how the different realms of engagement correlated with predictors of engagement, with garden learning, and with academic achievement measures. In addition, we examined correlations among the different realms of engagement. At one of the schools, a non-gardening group participated in the study as a control group. Thus, we also compared the gain scores in predictors of engagement, engagement, and academic achievement between the control and garden group from that school. At all three schools, academic or garden engagement significantly increased for the garden groups. Garden engagement was significantly correlated with academic engagement, science engagement, or both, at each of the three schools for post-test measures. Predictors of garden-based engagement were significantly correlated with academic and/or science engagement at each school, at least for post-test measures. These results show that gardening may have the potential to be a contributor to positive motivational changes that in turn can be related across academic domains. The non-gardening group showed significant gains in predictors of- and engagement itself, while the gardening group either marginally declined or maintained its level. However, the non-gardening group had significantly lower pre-test scores in comparison to the gardening group, which in part accounts for their comparative significant gain. The garden group showed significant increases in predictors of garden engagement and garden engagement itself. These results show that the garden group, comprised of at-risk students, are experiencing positive motivational benefits, which can possibly prevent further decline in their general performance. The lack of improvement in academic achievement suggests that the full academic benefit of garden education programs has yet to be consistently reached. We recommend that researchers use a more refined evaluation test and survey, specific to the garden program at hand and include qualitative measures. / Graduation date: 2013

Many plants are not commercially produced due to a lack of accessible information on their horticultural requirements and landscape potential. Members of the Legume Family (Leguminosae) are often conspicuous components of the vegetation of arid and semi-arid subtropical regions. Many of these plants are suitable for landscaping use in areas suited to their cultivation. Coursetia glandulosa, Erythrina flabelliformis, Eysenhardtia orthocarpa, Haematoxylon brasiletto, Lysiloma watsonii, Pithecellobium mexicanum, and Sophora arizonica are woody legumes native to the Sonoran Desert region which offer a variety of form, texture, color and function. All of these plants grow readily from scarified seed. E. flabelliformis and E. orthocarpa are easy to propagate from stem cuttings. Some irrigation is necessary for establishment and reasonable growth in the landscape. Maintenance and pests are minimal. Freezing temperatures are the primary limiting factor to several of the plants. S. arizonica is slow growing and is prone to rot in the nursery.

In order to obtain credit for an eco-roof in building energy load calculations the steady state and time-varying thermal properties (thermal mass with evapotranspiration) must be fully understood. The following study presents results of experimentation and modeling in an effort to develop dynamic thermal mass performance metrics for eco-roof systems. The work is focused on understanding the thermal parameters (foliage & soil) of an eco-roof, further validation of the EnergyPlus Green Roof Module and development of a standardized metric for assessing the time-varying thermal benefits of eco-roof systems that can be applied across building types and climate zones. Eco-roof foliage, soil and weather parameters were continuously collected at the Green Roof Integrated PhotoVoltaic (GRIPV) project from 01/20/2011 to 08/28/2011. The parameters were used to develop an EnergyPlus eco-roof validation model. The validated eco-roof model was then used to estimate the Dynamic Benefit for Massive System (DBMS) in 4 climate-locations: Portland Oregon, Chicago Illinois, Atlanta Georgia and Houston Texas. GRIPV30 (GRIPV soil with 30% soil organic matter) was compared to 12 previously tested eco-roof soils. GRIPV30 reduced dry soil conductivity by 50%, increased field capacity by 21% and reduced dry soil mass per unit volume by 60%. GRIPV30 soil had low conductivity at all moisture contents and high heat capacity at moderate and high moisture content. The characteristics of the GRIPV30 soil make it a good choice for moisture retention and reduction of heat flux, improved thermal mass (heat storage) when integrating an eco-roof with a building. Eco-roof model validation was performed with constant seasonal moisture driven soil properties and resulted in acceptable measured - modeled eco-roof temperature validation. LAI has a large impact on how the Green Roof Module calculates the eco-roof energy balance with a higher impact on daytime (measured - modeled) soil temperature differential and most significant during summer. DBMS modeling found the mild climates of Atlanta Georgia and Houston Texas with eco-roof annual DBMS of 1.03, 3% performance improvement above the standard building, based on cooling, heating and fan energy consumption. The Chicago Illinois climate with severe winter and mild spring/summer/fall has an annual DBMS of 1.01. The moderate Portland Oregon climate has a below standard DBMS of 0.97.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

No description available.

This thesis examines the ideas, assumptions, and activities of the predecessors and later advocates of the American organic farming movement. The central argument is that organic practitioners and sympathizers have shared a concern for the "balance of nature" and for man's roIe in that natural balance. 1 also argue that in the United States this natural ideal has been linked to the "myth of the garden", a vision of an agrarian nation and of the independent family farm which has shaped recurrent American rural reform movements. l contend that although they express apparently diverse goals -- for spiritual renewal, for political "revolution" , for personal self-sufficiency, and for a "new science" -- advocates share an underlying sense of their common crusade. Fundamental to this crusade is the value they place on "Nature", on the farmer's experience, and on rural revival. Thus, we can understand their diverse visions as expressions of a common cast of mind. / Cette thèse traite des fondements, des idées ainsi que des activités des précurseurs et des nouveaux partisans du mouvement américain de "l'agriculture biologique". Elle met en évidence le fait que ceux qui pratiquent cette forme d'agriculture et leurs sympathisants sont préoccupés par "l'équilibre de la nature" et par le rôle que l'homme peut y jouer. Elle démontre également qu'aux Etats-Unis, cet idéal de la nature a été lié au "mythe du jardin", c'est-à-dire à cette vision d'une nation agraire et d'une ferme familial indépendante, notions qui ont fortement marqué les mouvements de réforme rurale en Amérique. Malgré les objectifs apparemment divergents qu'ils épousent, lesquels varient du désir d'un renouveau spirituel, de la poursuite d'une révolution politique, de la recherche de l'auto-suffisance à la constitution d'une nouvelle science, les partisans se trouvent unis par un même esprit de croisade. A la base de cette cause se trouvent les valeurs de la nature, l'expérience personnelle des agriculteurs et le renouveau rural. Ainsi peut-on entrevoir, parmi ces visions diverses, l'expression d'une attitude commune. fr