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 beautifulenvironment 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]
Edmonds
Edmonds is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States, and is a Northern Suburb of Seattle located 11 miles (18 km) north of the city. Edmonds has a view of Puget Sound and both the Olympic Mountains and Cascade Range. The third most populous city in Snohomish County after Everett and Marysville, the population was 39,709 according to the 2010 census and the estimated population in 2015 was 40,490.[3] Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Edmonds ranks 20th of 281 areas in the state of Washington.[5]
Edmonds is a port in the Washington State Ferries system. Currently, the only ferry from Edmonds is a run to Kingston, Washington; in the past, there have been much longer routes from Edmonds to Port Townsend, Washington.[6]
Edmonds is the oldest incorporated city in Snohomish County. Logger George Brackett founded Edmonds in 1890, naming the city either for Vermont Sen. George Franklin Edmunds[7] or in association with the nearby Point Edmund, named by Charles Wilkes in 1841 and later changed to Point Edwards.[8] Brackett came to the future site of Edmonds while paddling a canoe north of Seattle, searching for timber. When a gust of wind hit his canoe, Brackett beached in a location later called “Brackett’s Landing”.[9]
The town was named Edmonds in 1884, but was not incorporated until 1890 as an official “village fourth class” of Snohomish County. In that same year, Brackett sold 455 acres (1.84 km2) to the Minneapolis Realty and Investment Company. The town was plotted and a wharf was added along the waterfront. Modest houses and commercial structures sprouted up with a row of shingle mills dominating the cityscape.