From Drought to Deluge: the Resilient Central Texas Garden

From Drought to Deluge: the Resilient Central Texas Garden PDF Author: Sheryl Williams
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780578765297
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Resilience is Key. Resilience is the ability to recover quickly from adversity. Central Texas presents plenty of challenging conditions, from thin limestone and dense clay soils to wide temperature swings and nearly unpredictable variations in rainfall. This book will help you build a garden tough enough to withstand these forces - one that can be both beautiful and practical with the effective use of plants and efficient use of water. The result will be a more sustainable, environmentally friendly garden without resorting to swaths of gravel, desert cacti and sun-withered succulents. The Travis County Master Gardeners Association has harvested a bounty of facts, advice, lists, and tips for surviving and thriving in Central Texas' periods of extended droughts and bursts of heavy downpours. Among the many things you'll learn are:- The difference between xeriscaping and "zero-scaping"- How to determine the type of soil you have and how to get the most out of it- Proven principles of landscape design that apply to residential gardens- Smart plant selection and placement based on your specific situation- More efficient irrigation strategies that save both water and money- How to practically maintain and manage your garden year round

From Drought to Deluge: the Resilient Central Texas Garden

From Drought to Deluge: the Resilient Central Texas Garden PDF Author: Sheryl Williams
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780578765297
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book

Book Description
Resilience is Key. Resilience is the ability to recover quickly from adversity. Central Texas presents plenty of challenging conditions, from thin limestone and dense clay soils to wide temperature swings and nearly unpredictable variations in rainfall. This book will help you build a garden tough enough to withstand these forces - one that can be both beautiful and practical with the effective use of plants and efficient use of water. The result will be a more sustainable, environmentally friendly garden without resorting to swaths of gravel, desert cacti and sun-withered succulents. The Travis County Master Gardeners Association has harvested a bounty of facts, advice, lists, and tips for surviving and thriving in Central Texas' periods of extended droughts and bursts of heavy downpours. Among the many things you'll learn are:- The difference between xeriscaping and "zero-scaping"- How to determine the type of soil you have and how to get the most out of it- Proven principles of landscape design that apply to residential gardens- Smart plant selection and placement based on your specific situation- More efficient irrigation strategies that save both water and money- How to practically maintain and manage your garden year round

Artful Rainwater Design

Artful Rainwater Design PDF Author: Stuart Echols
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1610912667
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
Artful Rainwater Design has three main parts: first, the book outlines five amenity-focused goals that might be highlighted in a project: education, recreation, safety, public relations, and aesthetic appeal. Next, it focuses on techniques for ecologically sustainable stormwater management that complement the amenity goals. Finally, it features diverse case studies that show how designers around the country are implementing principles of artful rainwater design.

Dryland Gardening

Dryland Gardening PDF Author: Jennifer Bennett
Publisher: Richmond Hill, Ont. : Firefly Books
ISBN: 9781554070312
Category : Drought-tolerant plants
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
An essential reference to gardening in hot and cold dry climates. Gardening where summers are hot and prone to periods of drought, or where winters are snowy one week and freezing rain the next, is best managed by xeriscaping -- dryland gardening techniques that favor not only water conservation but also the conservation of time, energy and other resources. Xeriscaping enthusiasts exist throughout North America wherever the climate calls for dryland gardening, from the Great Plains prairies to the California desert. Dryland Gardening explains time-tested strategies: Coping with limited access to water Dealing with invasive plants Dealing with trees under stress Nurturing groundcovers and grasses Starting bulbs, perennials and vines Growing vegetables, herbs and annuals. This book includes both practical advice for dry-climate gardeners as well as an extensive planting list for grasses and groundcovers, bulbs, perennials and vines, vegetables and annuals, herbs, roses and shrubs. Each plant entry provides: Common and botanical names Detailed descriptions Planting instructions, care and maintenance. Dryland Gardening celebrates a resilient garden with a beauty that requires fewer resources and less time. AUTHOR: Jennifer Bennett is the author of several books, including Lilacs for the Garden, and writes for gardening magazines. ILLUSTRATIONS: 100 colour photographs

The New Book of Salvias

The New Book of Salvias PDF Author: Betsy Clebsch
Publisher: Timber Press (OR)
ISBN: 9781604695106
Category : Salvia
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Showcases 150 of the most beautiful, gardenworthy species. Salvia is derived from the Latin word salvare, "to heal," and for centuries salvias have been valued for their medicinal and culinary qualities. Salvias, commonly known as sages, grow throughout the world. They occur in many forms: perennial, biennial, annual herbs, and evergreen or deciduous shrubs. These amazingly varied plants are also noteworthy for their remarkable resistance to pests and diseases, their drought tolerance-- and their beautiful flowers. In The New Book of Salvias: Sages for Every Garden, Betsy Clebsh highlights 150 beautiful, gardenworthy species and significant hybrids. She documents them alphabetically and includes botanical descriptions, information on habit, blooming cycle, recommended companion plants, and delightful historical tidbits of discovery and usage. In her ardent pursuit of salvias, Clebsch has explored the wild to collect plants and seeds to test in her garden. The resulting wealth of cultural information in The New Book of Salvias ensures that our gardens will not only be exquisitely aromatic but also wonderfully picturesque.

Out Of Control

Out Of Control PDF Author: Kevin Kelly
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 078674703X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description
Out of Control chronicles the dawn of a new era in which the machines and systems that drive our economy are so complex and autonomous as to be indistinguishable from living things.

The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina

The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina PDF Author:
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
"The objective of this report is to identify and establish a roadmap on how to do that, and lay the groundwork for transforming how this Nation- from every level of government to the private sector to individual citizens and communities - pursues a real and lasting vision of preparedness. To get there will require significant change to the status quo, to include adjustments to policy, structure, and mindset"--P. 2.

The Uninhabitable Earth

The Uninhabitable Earth PDF Author: David Wallace-Wells
Publisher: Tim Duggan Books
ISBN: 052557672X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The Uninhabitable Earth hits you like a comet, with an overflow of insanely lyrical prose about our pending Armageddon.”—Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New Yorker • The New York Times Book Review • Time • NPR • The Economist • The Paris Review • Toronto Star • GQ • The Times Literary Supplement • The New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews It is worse, much worse, than you think. If your anxiety about global warming is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible—food shortages, refugee emergencies, climate wars and economic devastation. An “epoch-defining book” (The Guardian) and “this generation’s Silent Spring” (The Washington Post), The Uninhabitable Earth is both a travelogue of the near future and a meditation on how that future will look to those living through it—the ways that warming promises to transform global politics, the meaning of technology and nature in the modern world, the sustainability of capitalism and the trajectory of human progress. The Uninhabitable Earth is also an impassioned call to action. For just as the world was brought to the brink of catastrophe within the span of a lifetime, the responsibility to avoid it now belongs to a single generation—today’s. LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/E.O. WILSON LITERARY SCIENCE WRITING AWARD “The Uninhabitable Earth is the most terrifying book I have ever read. Its subject is climate change, and its method is scientific, but its mode is Old Testament. The book is a meticulously documented, white-knuckled tour through the cascading catastrophes that will soon engulf our warming planet.”—Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times “Riveting. . . . Some readers will find Mr. Wallace-Wells’s outline of possible futures alarmist. He is indeed alarmed. You should be, too.”—The Economist “Potent and evocative. . . . Wallace-Wells has resolved to offer something other than the standard narrative of climate change. . . . He avoids the ‘eerily banal language of climatology’ in favor of lush, rolling prose.”—Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times “The book has potential to be this generation’s Silent Spring.”—The Washington Post “The Uninhabitable Earth, which has become a best seller, taps into the underlying emotion of the day: fear. . . . I encourage people to read this book.”—Alan Weisman, The New York Review of Books

Natural Disasters and Extreme Events in Agriculture

Natural Disasters and Extreme Events in Agriculture PDF Author: Mannava VK Sivakumar
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540283072
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
Agricultural production is highly sensitive to weather and climate-related disasters such as drought, storm and flood. While it is not possible to prevent the occurrence of natural disasters, the resultant disastrous effects can be reduced mitigated through proper planning and effective preparation. This book, based on a gathering of experts in Beijing, discusses ways to reduce the vulnerability of agriculture to disaster and extreme events, both by accurate and timely warning, and by impact-reducing countermeasures.

The Emerald Planet

The Emerald Planet PDF Author: David Beerling
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192529781
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
Plants have profoundly moulded the Earth's climate and the evolutionary trajectory of life. Far from being 'silent witnesses to the passage of time', plants are dynamic components of our world, shaping the environment throughout history as much as that environment has shaped them. In The Emerald Planet, David Beerling puts plants centre stage, revealing the crucial role they have played in driving global changes in the environment, in recording hidden facets of Earth's history, and in helping us to predict its future. His account draws together evidence from fossil plants, from experiments with their living counterparts, and from computer models of the 'Earth System', to illuminate the history of our planet and its biodiversity. This new approach reveals how plummeting carbon dioxide levels removed a barrier to the evolution of the leaf; how plants played a starring role in pushing oxygen levels upwards, allowing spectacular giant insects to thrive in the Carboniferous; and it strengthens fascinating and contentious fossil evidence for an ancient hole in the ozone layer. Along the way, Beerling introduces a lively cast of pioneering scientists from Victorian times onwards whose discoveries provided the crucial background to these and the other puzzles. This understanding of our planet's past sheds a sobering light on our own climate-changing activities, and offers clues to what our climatic and ecological futures might look like. There could be no more important time to take a close look at plants, and to understand the history of the world through the stories they tell. Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.

Evaluating and Conserving Green Infrastructure Across the Landscape

Evaluating and Conserving Green Infrastructure Across the Landscape PDF Author: Karen Firehock
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780989310307
Category : Land use
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
This is the New York State edition of the GIC's guide to evaluating and conserving green infrastructure (GI) across the landscape. It provides an historical background to GI, as well as practical steps for creating GI maps and plans for a community. It discusses issues around evaluating green assets, public involvement in the mapping process, and the practical steps in bringing together GIS information into a useful format. It draws from twelve field tests GIC has conducted over the past six years in a diversity of ecological and political conditions, at multiple scales, and in varied development patterns – from wildlands and rural areas to suburbs, cities and towns. This guide is intended to help people make land management decisions which recognize the interdependence of healthy people, strong economies and a vibrant, intact and biologically diverse landscape. Green infrastructure consists of our environmental assets – which GIC also calls ‘natural assets’ – and they should be included in planning processes. Planning to conserve or restore green infrastructure ensures that communities can be vibrant, healthful and resilient. Having clean air and water, as well as nature-based recreation, attractive views and abundant local food, depends upon considering our environmental assets as part of everyday planning. Available from GIC at www.gicinc.org.