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Oriented strand board (OSB) has become a popular building material for residential construction, but little research has been conducted on its use as a finish floor material. The study investigated the quality and performance of OSB as an alternative to traditional engineered wood products for finish floors. Four types of OSB finish floors using a mixture of garden and urban tree toppings were produced and evaluated, along with different types and levels of resin and mat moisture content. The finish floor panels were subjected to a battery of tests, including concentrated loading, indentation, falling ball impact resistance, abrasion resistance, and surface wettability. The findings showed that urea formaldehyde resin with garden tree toppings performed best in floor surface indentation, abrasion resistance, and falling ball indentation. The phenol formaldehyde resin with garden tree toppings, on the other hand, showed less moisture absorption and swelling during surface wetting tests and better resistance to force application in the concentrated loading test. Our qualitative comparison revealed that OSB finish floor production using 100% garden tree topping strands and 12% urea formaldehyde resin, along with 14% mat moisture content, produced the best results. The study provides valuable insights into the potential use of OSB as a sustainable and cost-effective finish floor material, using waste materials from urban and garden tree toppings., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Gardening has the potential to enhance health and well-being, through increased physical activity and social connectedness. However, while much is known about the benefits of garden activities, less is known about the potential health implications of more passive forms of engagement with gardens, for example, viewing gardens. In addition, much garden research is undertaken in urban settings, leaving little known about potential health impacts for rural populations. The present study explored these research gaps by gaining an understanding of the experiences and perspectives of members of a gardening appreciation group in rural Australia: The Colac Horticultural and Marvellous Property Appreciation Society (CHAMPAS). A phenomenological, qualitative methodology was applied, using semi-structured interviews for data collection. Eleven participants were selected using purposive and snowball sampling and the data were analysed by applying interpretive, reflexive thematic analysis. Four main themes and supporting sub-themes were generated. The four main themes were: (i) motivations for maintaining participation in CHAMPAS; (ii) social connections and friendships, formed from membership; (iii) sense of community and structure of CHAMPAS and (iv) the perceived health and well-being benefits of continued involvement in this group. This study found that members perceived health and well-being benefits stemmed from CHAMPAS facilitation of social connectedness, function as a community group and a way for members to share a love for home gardening. This study provides insights into the perceived and potential health-promoting effects of garden appreciation groups for rural populations., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Urban gardens can support diverse bee communities through resource provision in resource poor environments. Yet the effects of local habitat and landscape factors on wild bee communities in cities is still insufficiently understood, nor is how this information could be applied to urban wildlife conservation. Here we investigate how taxonomic and functional diversity of wild bees and their traits in urban community gardens are related to garden factors and surrounding landscape factors (e.g., plant diversity, amount of bare ground, amount of nesting resources, amount of landscape imperviousness). Using active and passive methods in 18 community gardens in Berlin, Germany, we documented 26 genera and 102 species of bees. We found that higher plant species richness and plant diversity as well as higher amounts of deadwood in gardens leads to higher numbers of wild bee species and bee (functional) diversity. Furthermore, higher landscape imperviousness surrounding gardens correlates with more cavity nesting bees, whereas a higher amount of bare ground correlates with more ground-nesting bees. Pollen specialization was positively associated with plant diversity, but no factors strongly predicted the proportion of endangered bees. Our results suggest that, aside from foraging resources, nesting resources should be implemented in management for more pollinator-friendly gardens. If designed and managed using such evidence-based strategies, urban gardens can create valuable foraging and nesting habitats for taxonomically and functionally diverse bee communities in cities., (© 2022 The Authors. Ecological Applications published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.)

The Red Books represented the most important working tool of landscape architect Humphry Repton (1752-1818). To give his clients an impression of his suggestions for improvement, he used an artifice that can be understood as montage. After all, his method reveals a certain similarity to the architectural montage used by director Sergei M. Eisenstein in his essay »Piranesi, or the Fluidity of Form«. Eisenstein, however, in both his works as a director and a theoretician, aimed at overcoming a realism that had defined bourgeois art in the 19th century. Trough the work of Repton, on the other hand, the landscape garden, once an aristocratic privilege, was transformed into a bourgeois consumer good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing strategies that counter the ongoing homogenization trends of home-garden agroforestry systems is required to maintain diversity and sustainability. This study aimed to map and characterize traditional enset-based home-garden agroforestry for managing sustainability in the Gurage socioecological landscape in Ethiopia. We generated plots and land use land cover (LULC) spatial data from orthophotomosaic and collected household survey data of the field. Five home-garden types were identified explicitly through integrating the home-garden composition, functional structure, and agroecological zones. Most home-garden types had similar horizontal functional structures in which perennial crops were planted close to homesteads, annual crops grew in outer fields, and woodlots were located at the end of the parcel. Diverse woody species, crop varieties, and plot sizes were identified in individual household parcels, and these varied across the home-garden types. Enset-based home-garden agroforestry production has been declining in the Ethiopian landscape because of socioeconomic changes and a lack of technological inputs. These challenges may compromise the community's food security with loss of the product diversity provided by the home-garden system. Thus, technological adoptions and scaling up of agroforestry practices according to the home-garden types are necessary for the continue provision of multiple contributions. This study demonstrated site-specific spatial characterization of the agroforestry systems by considering a holistic approach to reduce the local challenges and support the development of sustainable landscape management in an altering socioecological landscape., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Copyright of VLC Arquitectura is the property of VLC Arquitectura and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Considering the growing importance of the field of chemobrionics since the term was coined in 2015 and the increase in the number of published papers, it has become necessary to catalogue all the papers published to date. Here, we present the chemobrionics database, which lists all the chemical gardens synthesised according to their anion, cation and experimental protocol. The aim of this database is to encourage the study and dissemination of chemical gardens in order to find new experimental avenues in the field of chemobrionics. As this is such a fruitful field, the database is continuously updated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the doing of gardens and explores how amateur gardeners relate to gardening craft in their everyday garden practices. Based on qualitative empirical work, this paper discusses how different craft methods and caring practices are employed as memory work and as a means to connect to, and create, the garden as a socio-ecological place. Based on the gardeners' narratives, the garden is discussed as a web of self and a place where the meeting between the gardener and the more-than-human are central incentives to gardening. Gardening is an active place-making that goes beyond modifying the materiality of place. Rather, garden craft is narrated as reflecting the gardeners' underlying relationship to and understanding of plants, soil and animals. It is the means through which gardeners connect in an embodied way to 'the nature' of the garden. Garden craft is proposed as an art that is passed on between generations. Gardening craft can be improved by an increased understanding of the temporality of the garden and by developing a sensitivity towards the complex socio-ecological relationships that shape a place. It is concluded that garden craft is understood as central not only to how the garden is constructed as a place but also to how the gardener relates to the garden as affecting, and being affected by, the current environmental crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural institutions hold a unique position of influence, serving as hubs of education and knowledge dissemination for the people they serve. Embracing sustainable energy use in buildings in zoos and botanical gardens is a commitment to environmental responsibility that reinforces these institutions as trusted sources of information and community leaders on climate change, one of the most vital issues of our time. Sustainable energy solutions can synergize operations with educational missions, allowing zoos and botanical gardens to lead by example and inspire visitors to adopt eco-friendly practices in their own lives. In this opinion paper, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens President and CEO Richard Piacentini discusses key elements in developing a sustainable building energy plan, reviews potential barriers to implementation, and makes a case for adopting regenerative thinking and new metrics for measuring success—citing example cases from Phipps' Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) project. Additionally, the paper demonstrates how green building certification systems and peer-based resource networks like The Climate Toolkit can help guide institutions in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ice-crack pattern, a decorative scheme in traditional Chinese window design, still attracts modern eyes. Its irregular and changeable form has made garden architect Ji Cheng (1582–1642) argue that the crackled pattern results from random choices. Nevertheless, particular methods seem to have governed these compositions. This paper examines the ice-crack pattern on the window cases of the Surging Wave Pavilion complex in Suzhou, China. By conducting a geometrical, proportional, and statistical analysis and considering the structural integrity of the wood structure, this study reveals a design process that starts with 'key figure(s)' and expands towards the periphery of the windows. This method is observable in windows in several major Suzhou Gardens. My paper complements design theorist George Stiny's work, revealing form-generating rules that he had not considered. It thus provides a new model of ice-crack pattern creation that may be useful to future scholars and designers working in this mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located on the redeveloping waterfront of Canada's largest city, the Toronto Music Garden is a unique public garden inspired by the first of J. S. Bach's Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello. Designed through a collaboration with cellist Yo‐Yo Ma and landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy, the garden attempts not to represent Bach or his music but to inscribe its essence on the landscape. Several lines of inquiry are pursued in this paper. First, it provides an overview of the geographies of gardens and the ways in which elements of garden design and music composition have influenced each other. Second, it reveals the creative process involved in translating the elements of one art form (music) to another (landscape design). Especially important to this process is Messervy's use of what she terms 'archetypal' landforms. Third, the Music Garden is analysed as an integral part of the lived landscape of Toronto's post‐industrial waterfront. Finally, the paper contends that the power and significance of the Toronto Music Garden lies in the interstices between the emotional geographies that informed the design and the resulting affective atmosphere experienced by a diversity of visitors. The methodology for this project includes open‐ended interviews, fieldwork, and archival research. This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on the roles that the arts can play in the production and utilisation of distinctive public spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rain gardens are widely used for low impact development (LID) or as a nature-based solution (NbS). They help to reduce runoff, mitigate hot temperatures, create habitats for plants and insects, and beautify landscapes. Rain gardens are increasingly being established in urban areas. In Taiwan, the Ministry of Environment (MoE) initiated a rain garden project in Taipei city in 2018, and 15 rain gardens have since been constructed in different cities. These Taiwanese-style rain gardens contain an underground storage tank to collect the filtrated rainwater, which can be used for irrigation. Moreover, the 15 rain gardens are equipped with sensors to monitor temperature, rainfall, and underground water levels. The monitoring data were transmitted with Internet of Things (IoT) technology, enabling the capture and export of real-time values. The water retention, temperature mitigation, water quality, and ecological indices of the rain gardens were quantified using field data. The results from the young rain gardens (1-3 years) showed that nearly 100 % of the rainfall was retained onsite and did not flow out from the rain gardens; however, if the stored water was not used and the tanks were full, the rainwater from subsequent storms could not be stored, and the tanks overflowed. The surface temperatures of the rain garden and nearby impermeable pavement differed by an average of 2-4 °C. This difference exceeded 20 °C in summer at noon. The water in the underground storage tanks had very low levels of SS and BOD, with averages of 1.6 mg/L and 5.6 mg/L, respectively. However, the E. coli concentrations were high, and the average was 6283 CFU/100 mL; therefore, washing or drinking water is not recommended. The ecological indices, i.e., the Shannon and Simpson indices, demonstrated the good flora status of the rain gardens after one year. Although the weather differed by city, the performance of the rain gardens in terms of water retention, temperature mitigation, rainwater harvesting, and providing biological habitats was consistent. However, maintenance influences rain garden performance. If the stored water is not frequently used, the stored volume is reduced, and the stored water quality degrades., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Chi-Feng Chen reports financial support was provided by Climate Change Administration, Ministry of Environment, Taiwan. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cohort studies linking greenspace exposure to a lower risk of obesity-related cancer (ORC) are scarce. Existing evidence on site-specific cancers has predominantly relied on non-specific greenspace measures, including vegetation indices. We examined the associations of total greenspace, private residential gardens, and other greenspace types with the risk of being diagnosed with overall and site-specific ORC., Methods: We used data from the participants in the UK Biobank recruited between 2006 and 2010 and censored until December 31, 2016. We defined greenspace variables using Ordnance Survey MasterMap™ greenspace categories. The incidence of ORC was ascertained through data linkage to cancer registries. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models and adjusted for covariates. We conducted mediation and modification analysis by physical activity, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], and particulate matter air pollution with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 (PM 2.5 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), as well as subgroup analysis by covariates., Results: Among 279,326 participants, 9550 developed ORC over a median follow-up period of 7.82 years. An increase in private residential gardens within a 100 m buffer was associated with a decreased risk of overall ORC (HR:0.92; 95 % CI: 0.88, 0.96), breast cancer (HR: 0.91; 95 % CI: 0.84, 0.98), and uterine cancer (HR:0.80; 95 % CI: 0.67, 0.96). There was no association between other greenspace types and ORC, except for uterine cancer. The association for ORC was partly mediated by NO 2 and modified by physical activity levels, 25(OH)D, PM 2.5, and NO 2 , and sociodemographic factors, including sex and neighbourhood socioeconomic status., Conclusion: Increased exposure to private residential gardens may lower the risk of being diagnosed with obesity-related cancer, particularly breast and uterine cancer. Future studies might move beyond considering greenspace quantity to explore functional types of greenspace exposure that should be prioritized for targeted health intervention and cancer prevention., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Nicholas J Osborne reports a relationship with Reckitt Benckiser Australia Pty Ltd. that includes: speaking and lecture fees. Nicholas J Osborne reports a relationship with Taylor & Francis Group that includes: consulting or advisory. Nicholas J Osborne reports a relationship with Federal Court of Australia that includes: paid expert testimony. The authors declare no other competing interests If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

With this paper we explore and discuss the priorities of and possible goal conflicts between authenticity and climate change in heritage gardens. How can climate change mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and cultural heritage conservation be combined in heritage gardens? Our study was guided by the following research question: How do gardeners negotiate climate change and authenticity in heritage gardens? From Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in the 1960s through to the 2002 report Gardening in the Global Greenhouse and the recent Gardening in a Changing World in 2022 mankind's impact on the environment and the emerging climate change has been the focus of increasing attention. By investigating and interviewing multiple gardeners our objective was to pinpoint common challenges, as well as what can be learned from one another within the field of gardening and heritage conservation. The case study method was adopted for this study, involving three head gardeners in the United Kingdom. Interviews were conducted with Joseph Atkin at Aberglasney Gardens, Claire Greenslade at Hestercombe Gardens, and Steve Lannin at Iford Manor about their expertise and knowledge. The gardeners expressed concern regarding climate change and the challenges it poses. The interviewees shared their experience with drought, reduced use of pesticides and herbicides, and the peat legislation in relation to their role as head gardeners. We argue that authenticity and the traditional gardening practised before the advent of power tools, plastic, peat issues, and uninformed transportation can be part of the solution to loss of biodiversity and climate change. This paper identifies some of the obstacles encountered in relation to negotiating questions of authenticity and climate change in heritage gardens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the connection between scent and well-being (eudaimonia) in some ancient Greek and Roman sources. Focusing on the metaphor of the 'perfumer's garden' — the blend of scents in ancient perfumes used to evoke faraway lands like Arabia Felix or Egypt — the paper discusses how these aromatic creations communicate more than the fragrance of the gardens they come from. Believed to possess medicinal properties mirroring their plant sources, perfumes offer a unique window into health and social life. While all classes sought well-being through scent, specific perfumes varied based on factors like social status and gender. This work focuses on these variations, examining medical and philosophical texts about the relation of scent and health alongside literary case studies: Herodian's account of remedies used during the Antonine Plague, where class dictated perfume choice, and the use of Egyptian-inspired scents during the Hellenistic period, which expresses differences between men and women. In exploring these aromatic landscapes, we uncover a complexity where the essence of gardens and their fragrances reveal more than attempts at using scent to secure health; they show themselves to be rich sources of symbolic meaning reflecting the values and aspirations of ancient authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect declines are being reported worldwide and private, residential gardens could provide refugia for these species under increasing land use change. Interest in wildlife-friendly gardening has increased, but many management recommendations lack a scientific evidence-base. We used a large citizen science scheme, the Garden Butterfly Survey (GBS), with data from over 600 gardens across Great Britain (2016-2021) to determine how the surrounding landscape influences the abundance and species richness of butterflies in gardens and whether wildlife-friendly gardening practices, such as having long grass and providing nectar plants, benefit butterflies. First, we show that GBS provides reliable estimates of species abundances by comparing with results from standardised, long-term monitoring data. Garden size and surrounding land use had significant effects on butterfly abundance and richness in gardens, including positive relationships with garden size, woodland and arable farmland and negative relationships with urbanisation. Both the presence and area of long grass in gardens were positively related to higher butterfly richness and abundance, with the latter being driven by butterflies that use grasses as larval host plants. These effects differed depending on the surrounding landscape, such that long grass resulted in higher garden butterfly abundance in landscapes dominated by arable farming, and higher abundance and richness in highly urbanised areas. The presence of flowering ivy (Hedera spp.) in gardens resulted in higher abundance of Celastrina argiolus holly blue which uses ivy as a larval host, and of Vanessa atalanta red admiral and Polygonia c-album comma, which favour it as a nectar source. Our work provides evidence that undertaking simple wildlife-friendly garden practices can be beneficial for attracting butterflies, particularly in heavily modified areas. With over 728,000 ha of gardens in Great Britain, the cumulative effect of leaving areas of lawn uncut and providing nectar and larval host plants could be key for helping biodiversity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

How accurately can citizen science participants identify species, and can the information they provide be used to calculate accurate estimates of species richness, abundance and diversity measures? In this paper, we address these questions using data from a citizen science project assessing slug species diversity in gardens.Sixty participants were selected from over 2700 applicants across Britain to sample their gardens regularly for slugs following a standardised method. All slugs collected during the 30‐min search were posted to the lead investigator for verification throughout the 12‐month project. The resulting data were analysed to explore how accurate participants were in identifying slugs and whether this improved over the study period. Prior experience in slug identification was evaluated as a predictor of accuracy.Participants overestimated slug abundance and species richness, which led to overestimates in species diversity indices, illustrating the importance of verification in citizen science projects involving identification.Accuracy of slug identifications increased significantly over time in quantitative analysis of ecological data. However, self‐defined prior experience of identifying slugs before participation was not a good predictor of participant accuracy.Participants reported perceived improvement in slug identification skills to an evaluation survey after the project. However, confidence in identifying and explaining identification of slugs was lower than confidence in understanding and explaining other new science topics.This citizen science approach, including expert verification of physical specimens, illustrates how this method can be used successfully to provide accurate data on species' abundance and richness, alongside improving identification skills among the public for an understudied taxon. Continued engagement and feedback for participants is key in retaining citizen science participation in a project of this type, particularly if the taxon is challenging to identify correctly to species. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper establishes interpretative criteria for the aesthetic evaluation of contemporary gardens and parks, specifically focusing on a dendrological park. Initially, it examines the potential of a "contract with nature" as a foundational basis for such evaluation but subsequently challenges this notion. The paper posits that political and material-ecological aspects significantly influence aesthetic judgments in these spaces. It argues that these elements are integral to eliciting a direct aesthetic experience and necessitates explicit explication in their interpretation. This study further interprets gardens and parks as akin to works of art in that they represent, albeit without conventional subject matter, the nuanced relationships to the lives of individuals. The paper elucidates the more profound, often unspoken dialogues between nature, culture, and individual experience by viewing these spaces as representational mediums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Architectural Journal / Jian Zhu Xue Bao is the property of Architectural Journal Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Urban Green Spaces have become essential tools for promoting public health, especially in over-urbanized cities. Following visitors' outdoor recreation experiences, this paper aims to identify visitors' complaints about nation gardens in Istanbul. The study site consisted of 12 nation gardens in Istanbul. Initially, 38,965 Google Maps reviews about the nation gardens through December 2022 were screened. Then, 4143 comments containing the visitors' complaints were identified. After gathering these comments in an Excel spreadsheet, the data was imported to MAXQDA software. Braun and Clarke's six-phased thematic analysis approach was applied to explore codes and themes. Considering the visitors' complaints, 91 codes were generated. Relevant codes are categorized under five themes: outdoor areas/physical characteristics, facilities, visitors' interactions, accessibility/entrance management, and restrictions and security implications. Outdoor areas/physical characteristics, facilities, and visitor interactions are the most common complaints, followed by accessibility and security. Park planners can use visitor feedback to improve existing parks and design new ones, maximizing individual and social benefits, such as health outcomes, and ensuring the effective use of green spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Architectural Journal / Jian Zhu Xue Bao is the property of Architectural Journal Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture is the property of Journal of Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Urban Studies (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the reasons for differences in open banking systems around the world in order to identify the ideal conditions for open banking. Following an examination of different approaches to open banking, the paper identifies six parameters that are essential for success, and discusses how to optimise these based on the Turkish experience. The findings have important implications for regulators of open banking initiatives. First, the active involvement of the regulator is crucial, especially during the early stages of implementation. More than simply providing the legal framework for open banking, regulators need to participate actively in the design and implementation of such systems, providing guidance for application programming interface standards and efficient infrastructures. Secondly, it is essential to build and maintain a shared platform with standardised infrastructure to foster fast adoption. Finally, the development of an instant payment system is critical to unlocking the full potential of open banking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the Garden of Mount Yu in the late Ming Dynasty, owned by the prestigious scholar-official and drama critic Qi Biaojia. As seen in his literature on Mount Yu, Qi had projected his theatrical sensitivity onto his viewing of the garden, imagining the emotional interactions between his 'theatrical self' and the garden, which emerged again on the night of his martyrdom upon Ming's collapse. In both circumstances, the alienation of a 'theatrical self' enabled Qi to immerse himself in the imagined theatrics while apprehending their illusory quality. This paper takes the nocturnal obscurity and mutability of temporal stages as opposites of daytime normality and demonstrates the obsession with theatricality and its manipulation in seventeenth-century China. Such obsession, when examined in the context of the Ming-Qing transition, reflects a philosophy of living in the post-conquest world, wherein the significance of a garden was highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the typologies and characteristics of classical Vietnamese gardens built in the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) by examining historical records, paintings, and existing gardens. The findings highlight the presence of two distinct types of classical gardens in Vietnam: imperial gardens and imperial mausoleum gardens. Numerous examples from Chinese gardens constructed during the Ming and Qing Dynasties are employed for comparison with Vietnamese gardens. Influenced by Chinese culture, Vietnamese gardens exhibit numerous shared characteristics and elements with their Chinese counterparts. Layouts, architectural styles of pavilions, garden elements such as rockeries, ponds, and bridges, as well as plant materials were inspired by Chinese gardens, yet they were adapted to align with local conditions, such as climate and garden owners' preferences. For example, the arrangement and design of some elements, like waterscapes and bridges, species of plants and stone materials were different. Understanding the cultural significance and uniqueness of Vietnamese classical gardens contributes to their preservation and restoration. By recognizing and comparing the philosophical approaches to garden design in China and Vietnam, this research sheds light on the diverse expressions and adaptations of garden design in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the multimedia information comprehensive development of multimedia culture, the traditional technology of many industries and advanced mobile technology develop in concert. Ancient Chinese gardens have a long history. They are rich in content, outstanding in style, and full of characteristics. They have great aesthetic value and are the valuable property of all mankind. This paper discusses the environmental expression, spatial layout, and element combination in traditional garden art. The study of landscape design techniques involves different subjects. Through the developed mobile multimedia information, the traditional garden design is more rich, separation but not blocking, desire to promote first restraint, twists and turns, appropriate scale, borrowing from afar and borrowing from neighbors. The application of these expression techniques in modern interior design is of great significance. By using the ancient gardens of our country to reflect the civilization products of our country in a certain historical stage, the paper traces its development ideas and motives and analyzes the consistency with the corresponding contemporary ideological development. From the perspective of space design, this paper discusses the influence of ancient gardens on contemporary space creation from the aspects of space type, structure form, and space language. How to apply the reference means of ancient Chinese garden design to modern interior decoration through multimedia information so that the interior space can also experience the aesthetic pleasure of "changing scenery" so that the traditional landscape and modern interior decoration can be more fully integrated. This is something designers have to think about. Chinese ancient gardens have always been the focus of domestic design circles. Both the ideas behind it and its own gardening techniques can be used for reference by contemporary interior design. Therefore, the main content of this paper is the foundation of the transformation mechanism of traditional garden in contemporary design through multimedia information. Based on the framework system of contemporary indoor natural landscape or indoor natural landscape as the background, this paper discusses how to use virtual reality technology for reference to the gardening techniques of classical Chinese gardens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the accelerating urbanization process in China, the problem of urban infrastructure layout has become increasingly prominent. The high density of buildings and the extremely unreasonable distribution of infrastructure make the development face great resistance. This paper reveals the problems in the layout of garden infrastructure by studying and analyzing the theoretical foundations of federal learning and distributed learning and provides an in-depth analysis and elaboration of the problem. The paper uses the shape index and landscape index of green infrastructure (green space, arable land, and water bodies), the average width of roads, road network density, and weighted buildings to conduct a comparative study through the differences in ventilation speed and temperature at different layout garden scales. According to the problems existing in the garden layout in the experimental results, corresponding improvement measures are targeted, and the infrastructure layout of the garden is combined with ecology to make the layout within the garden more suitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioconversion of livestock wastes using insect larvae represents an emerging and effective strategy for waste management. However, knowledge on the role of the garden fruit chafer (Pachnoda sinuataL.) in waste recycling and influence on the diversity ofmicrobial community infrass fertilizeris limited. Here, we determined whether and to what extent the conversion of cattle dung into insect frass fertilizer byP. sinuatainfluences the frass' microbial community and its associated antibiotic resistance genes abundance. Pachnoda sinuata larvae were used to valorise cattle dung into frass fertilizer; samples were collected weekly to determine the composition of bacteria and fungi, and antibiotic resistant genes using molecular tools. Results revealed that bioconversion of cattle dung byP. sinuatalarvae significantly increased the richness of beneficial bacteria in the frass fertilizer by 2.5-folds within 28 days, but fungal richness did not vary during the study. Treatment of cattle dung withP. sinuatalarvae caused 2 - 3-folds decrease in the genes conferring resistance to commonly used antibiotics such as aminoglycoside, diaminopyrimidine, multidrug, sulfonamide and tetracycline within 14 days. Furthermore, the recycling cattle dung using considerably reduced the abundance of mobile genetic elements known to play critical roles in the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes between organisms. This studyhighlights the efficiency ofsaprohytic insects in recycling animal manure and suppressing manure-borne pathogens in the organic fertilizer products, opening new market opportunities for innovative and safe bio-based products and achieving efficient resource utilization in a circular and green economy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Access to water for irrigating amenity landscape and public gardens is under intense pressure due to the rising competition for water between different sectors, exacerbated by increased drought risk and climate change. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has the potential to reduce the economic impacts of restrictions on irrigation abstraction in dry years and to build resilience to future water shortages. This study investigated the hydrological viability of RWH for the landscape and public garden sector based on an analysis of five Royal Horticultural Society gardens. A RWH model was developed and combined with on-site observations, key informant interviews and GIS analyses, to estimate irrigation demands and the volumes of harvested rainfall for contrasting agroclimatic years. The results showed that gardens located in wetter regions and with low irrigation water demand to harvestable area ratio had a higher RWH potential and could almost exclusively rely on rainwater to meet irrigation demand, even in dry years. RWH potential is more limited for gardens in drier regions where they would require larger areas to harvest rainwater and for storage. Appropriately designed rainwater harvesting systems offer the potential to remove most of the risk of irrigation abstraction restrictions during dry years and associated impacts on amenity planting quality and visitor experience., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Urbanization and land use change are leading causes of declines in pollinator abundance and diversity. However, researchers in different regions of the world have found that some pollinators can thrive in urban landscapes, depending on land use practices, environmental conditions, and species traits. Residential landscapes constitute a significant portion of urban green space and thus, residents' adoption of landscape practices to promote pollinators can play a central role in addressing the global pollinator challenge. Yet, although residents' willingness and intention appear strong, adoption of pollinator-friendly gardening remains low. The present study - guided by the Diffusion of Innovations theory - aimed to build empirical understanding by surveying 1598 [State] residents on their experiences and perceptions related to pollinator-friendly gardening to determine the most salient barriers and opportunities to engagement. Key findings suggest making the practice more widely observable and reducing perceived complexity in learning to do the practice are critical to promoting adoption. This demonstrates, in practical terms, that: (1) targeted efforts to build residents' actionable knowledge about pollinator-friendly gardening may significantly reduce uncertainty and boost the likelihood of adoption; and (2) examples of active pollinator gardens need to be more widely showcased and popularized (e.g., through experiential or virtual demonstrations). We also found most residents living in homeowner associations (HOAs) believed HOA policies on pollinator-friendly gardening were restrictive or the residents were unsure whether they are allowed to practice pollinator-friendly gardening. Given these perceptions strongly associated with residents' low intent to engage in pollinator-friendly gardening, a major opportunity exists to diffuse the practice and increase adoption by working with HOAs and community leaders to become promoters of - rather than barriers to - pollinator-friendly gardening., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The early history of the European 'discovery' of the 'Moving Plant of Bengal', now Codariocalyx motorius, but for long known as Desmodium gyrans, is discussed, as is its introduction to Western gardens and its scientific description. The pre-eminent role of James Kerr (1737–1782) in sending seeds and drawings by an anonymous Bengali artist to John Hope, John Fothergill and William Cullen is described, and the use of it made by Hope in his botanical lectures. References by the poets Erasmus Darwin and Maria Montolieu are discussed, as also its graphic representation by the engravers Frederick Polydore Nodder and Yves-Marie Le Gouaz, and in paper mosaic by Mary Delany. Also discussed is a paper by Pierre M. A. Broussonet in which the discovery of the plant was attributed to Lady Anne Monson. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this introduction to the special issue on Gardens of eudaimonia: cultivating human flourishing through sensory experiences, the topic of the collection is contextualized within the recent and growing interest in gardens among scholars from different disciplines as well as the wider public. Since the beginning of this millennium, academic attention to gardens has moved its focal point from aesthetic considerations to an interest in the benefits gardening can offer to human life and well-being. In this introductory chapter, we first lead the reader through a small selection of examples from garden history, which highlight sensory impressions; secondly, we introduce sensory history with an emphasis on garden perception. Thirdly, we present the concept of a 'flourishing life' (one of the ways how one could translate the Greek word, and rich concept of eudaimonia) and its relations to the sensations available to human experience in gardens. Most importantly, we strive to show that the sensorium is not limited to the five senses traditionally intended; rather, it contains a synesthetic variety of feelings, perceptions, moods, and atmospheres that emerge as an environmental ensemble in gardens and contribute as such to the achievement of a 'good human life'. The introduction is closed by a content overview of the individual contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we concentrate on the garden as a place capable of offering physical protection from danger, as well as fostering psychological or physical well-being through relaxation and soothing activities in a variety of ancient Greco-Roman sources, including not just poetry but also philosophical, medical, and specialist literature generally. In the first part, we consider the environment in Greco-Roman medical discourses with specific reference to gardens. Various themes in what are sometimes called 'enviromental' medical approaches are illustrated to narrow the analysis to the case of gardens and cultivated land as a space for therapeutic activity, relaxation, diversion, and intellectual and philosophical exchange. The inclusion of the garden, we propose, within the range of the medically useful is indebted to the stereotyping of gardens in philosophical genres, but also to a wider understanding and exploitation, literal and metaphorical, of the garden as 'controlled nature'. The latter point emerges more clearly in the second part of the chapter in which we focus on two poetic texts (Ovid, Metamorphoses 14.623–771; Columella, De Re Rustica 10.255–310). In our conclusions, we bring together these two strands of observations and offer remarks about the conceptual parallel between the human body (including its health and safety) and landscaped vegetation in ancient cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the use of digital technology for the protection and research of cultural heritage has become a trend in this field. Rockeries in Chinese classical gardens have become an important cultural heritage type because of their unique shape, ingenious skills and rich connotations. Based on relevant historical information and 3D digital technology, this paper puts forward a multi-level quantitative analysis method on the scale, shape and quantity of rockeries in Chinese classical gardens, aiming at exploring the objective description and quantitative analysis path of rockeries at different levels. This method develops four levels: overall, regional, hierarchical, and individual and their corresponding quantitative contents, which in turn enable data extraction and analysis of the rockery through the different levels. The proposed method was applied to seven different Chinese classical garden rockeries, and taking Wanfang Anhe Rockery in the Old Summer Palace as an example for objective and comprehensive quantitative analysis and verification. The results show that this method is feasible and effective for quantitative analysis of the scale, shape and quantity of rockeries, which can help understand the basic background of stone rockeries and enhance a refined understanding of stone rockery construction, thereby providing data for preventive protection and informatization management of stone rockeries. The 3D rockery model database based on the overall, regional, hierarchical and individual quantitative analysis and numbering method brings a good application prospect for preventive protection and informatization management of the rockery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban gardens have emerged at the cracks and edges of the densely built environment of Metro Manila, taking on a variety of forms that cultivate a sense of habitability amid harsh urban conditions. The empirical diversity in the spaces, practices and trajectories of urban gardens in the city, however, often exceeds their usual framings either as state‐sponsored projects from above that seek to transform individual dispositions, or as grassroots initiatives from below that result from conscious collective resistance or encroachment. Framing gardens as a locus to understand city‐making amid massive urbanisation, this paper aims to provide a different account of urban gardens by focusing on how they emerge from a certain edginess, characterised by a coming together of various actions, aspirations and relations, and by a mode of practice marked by a distinctive temporality and peripheral logic. Using particular accounts of gardening from across Metro Manila, the paper demonstrates the edginess of urban gardens in terms of four articulations: as interstitial, provisional, transversal and experimental. Making a garden work and maintaining its place in the city entail consolidating relationships between various urban elements that carve spaces of manoeuvre, produce diverse eventualities, and map onto the indeterminate politics of the maybe. Framing gardens as a locus to understand city‐making amid massive urbanization, this paper aims to provide a different account of urban gardens by focusing on how they emerge from a certain edginess, characterized by a coming together of various actions, aspirations and relations, and by a mode of practice marked by a distinctive temporality and peripheral logic. Using particular accounts of gardening from across Metro Manila, the paper demonstrates the edginess of urban gardens in terms of four articulations: as interstitial, provisional, transversal and experimental. Making a garden work and maintaining its place in the city entail consolidating relationships between various urban elements that carve spaces of maneuver, produce diverse eventualities, and map onto the indeterminate politics of the maybe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There continues to be much debate as to whether to preserve buildings, and this is particularly pertinent to post-war architecture, especially in the UK. This paper further explores the issue by concentrating on the acquisition of a fragment of Robin Hood Gardens by the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Smithsons' key work was deemed a failed social experiment in its listing verdict, and the acquisition of the fragment during demolition sparked controversy when exhibited at the 2018 Venice Biennale. Devoid of its context in an exhibition setting, the fragment of building questions the applicability of traditional conservation values, particularly those relating to age or architectural value. This paper aims to demonstrate the value of taking a more sociological approach to this dilemma. It uses theories of collective memory, specifically Halbwachs and Bachelard's variations, to explore multiple interpretations of the fragment's physicality. Three frameworks have been chosen for analysis: the changing social housing rhetoric, its listing campaign, and finally the present, a speculative section on what the current interpretations of the past indicate for the future. Through this chronological analysis it is concluded that the Estate's physicality is reduced to a semantic contribution, representative of our current crisis of collective memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on how the Hospitallers cultivated the island of Rhodes between 1309 and 1522, drawing on both published and unpublished documents from the Hospitallers' archive on Malta. After their conquest of Rhodes, the Hospitallers not only inherited the available land, but attempted to expand and enhance its productivity and use. This article considers both agricultural and possible recreational spaces, in particular looking at the diverse types of gardens that developed. The paper argues that there were distinct stages to the cultivation of Rhodes, especially apparent in the first half-century of occupation of the island: that is, settlement of Latins and Greeks on the island, which equates to the social cultivation of Rhodes, then bringing uncultivated land into cultivation, the conveying of already cultivated land under Hospitaller control, and finally the maintenance and improvement of farmed lands. This last task was something shared by the many Hospitaller commanderies throughout Europe and continued until their lands were gradually confiscated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the general architecture and key technologies of the Agricultural Internet of Things and summarizes the latest progress of the Internet of Things system model. On this basis, a general system architecture model suitable for the Agricultural Internet of Things is initially established, and the key technologies of the Agricultural Internet of Things are expounded to provide a reference for the in-depth application and development of the Agricultural Internet of Things. Aiming at the problem that the energy consumption of each node in the network is uneven in the process of monitoring agricultural production environment by wireless sensor network, which leads to the failure of some nodes in the network too fast, an event-driven wireless routing algorithm for agricultural production environment monitoring is proposed. By reducing the number of pieces of control information sent in the cluster, the algorithm selects the next hop forwarding node from candidate nodes according to the forwarding cost function to shorten the data transmission distance, reduce energy consumption, and improve the life cycle of the entire network. The experimental results show that the algorithm in this paper effectively avoids the waste of node energy consumption caused by the active transmission mode and at the same time better balances the overall energy consumption of the network and prolongs the life cycle of the network. The platform satisfies the needs of a local garden bureau to integrate comprehensive landscaping business information and display comprehensive landscaping information in a comprehensive, timely, and dynamic manner. At the same time, it has made useful explorations in the development and integration of landscaping business data interfaces and GIS data interfaces. All system functions of the smart garden information management platform project are reasonably designed and completely correct and basically meet the software function requirements specified in the requirements specification. Some functions were found not realized during the test. After rectification, various systems have been improved. All system interfaces of the smart garden information management platform project have reasonable layout, simple operation, and good ease of use. The smart garden information management platform project meets the business logic requirements and fulfills the requirements of the information construction of the Garden and Greening Administration. All systems of the smart garden information management platform project are simple to install and easy to operate and meet the user's requirements after installation. The system has a strict permission setting function. People with different permissions can only see the content of the fields that they have permission to access, which effectively ensures the security of the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]