By Michael Sanford

Gardening is an activitythe art and craft of growing plantswith a goal of creating a beautiful environment. Gardening most often takes place in or about one’s residence, in a space referred to as the garden. A garden that is in close proximity to one’s residence is also known as a residential garden. Although a garden typically is located on the land within, surrounding, or adjacent to a residence, it may also be located in less traditional locations such as on a roof, in an atrium, on a balcony, in a windowbox, or on a patio.

Gardening also takes place in non-residential green areas, such as parks, public or semi-public gardens (botanical gardens or zoological gardens), amusement and theme parks, along transportation corridors, and around tourist attractions and hotels. In these situations, a staff of gardeners or groundskeepers maintains the gardens.

Indoor gardening is concerned with the growing of what are essentially houseplants within a residence or building, in a conservatory, or in a greenhouse. Plants grown in a conservatory or greenhouse may or may not require more exacting care and conditions than ordinary houseplants. Indoor gardens are sometimes incorporated as part of air conditioning or heating systems. Water gardening is concerned with growing plants adapted to pools and ponds. Bog gardens are also considered a type of water garden. These all require special conditions and considerations. A simple water garden may consist solely of a tub containing the water and plant(s).

In cryptanalysis, gardening was a term used at Bletchley Park during World War II for schemes to entice the Germans to include known plaintext, which they called cribs, in their encrypted messages. It is claimed to have been most effective against messages produced by the German Navy’s Enigma machines

In China, for instance, farmers regularly set up outhouses on the roads to attract tourists to use them, furnishing the farmers with “night soil” (human manure) for use as a fertiliser. These methods make excellent use of calories and minerals and water, but of course violate the aesthetics of most Westerners, who would balk at using stranger’s human wastes on their own gardens. There is thus some conflict between gardening for personal or aesthetic reasons, and for practical food-raising, even for one household.

The living wall is an unusual variant of a living machine and is effectively a vertical garden: water dripping down feeds a surface growing with moss and vines, other plants, some insects and bacteria, and captured at the bottom in a pool or pond to be recirculated to the top. These are sometimes built indoors to help cure sick building syndrome or otherwise increase the oxygen levels in recirculated air.

Gardening is considered to be an absolutely essential art in most cultures. In Japan, for instance, Samurai and Zen monks were often required to build decorative gardens or practice related skills like flower arrangement known as ikebana.

Social aspect

In modern Europe and North America, people often express their political or social views in gardens, intentionally or not. The Green parties and Greenpeace often advise their campaigners to call first on homeowners who have lush chaotic wild gardens, as these are deemed to be more likely to respond to the Greens’ political message than those with AstroTurf or bluegrass lawns. No reliable statistics support such claims, but for many years, in the United States, there was a widespread belief that there was such a thing as a Republican lawn and Democratic lawn.

The lawn vs. garden issue is played out in urban planning as the debate over the “land ethic” that is to determine urban land use and whether hyperhygienist bylaws (e.g. weed control) should apply, or whether land should generally be allowed to exist in its natural wild state. In a famous Canadian Charter of Rights case, “Sandra Bell vs. City of Toronto”, 1997, the right to cultivate all native species, even most varieties deemed noxious or allergenic, was upheld as part of the right of free expression, at least in Canada.

Gardening is thus not only a food source and art, but also a right. The Slow Food movement has sought in some countries to add an edible schoolyard and garden classrooms to schools, e.g. in Fergus, Ontario, where these were added to a public school to augment the kitchen classroom.

In US and British usage, the care, installation, and maintenance of ornamental plantings in and around commercial and institutional buildings is called landscaping, landscape maintenance or groundskeeping, while international usage uses the term gardening for these same activities.

History

Gardening for food extends far back into prehistory. Ornamental gardens are known in ancient times (the Hanging Gardens of Babylon), and ancient Rome had dozens of gardens. See the History of gardening article for more information, including a List of historical garden types, as well as a List of notable historical gardens.

About the Author: For more information on organic gardeningart please visit the organic gardening art resource center at

gardening-help-guide.info

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Submitted by: Susan Crossman

A solid vision stemming from a sincere commitment is important in generating and sustaining employee engagement. But in my experience, the unsung hero in the operation is usually strong writing tailored to both the communication channel and the audience.

There s no question that employee engagement is more important today than ever. We re still haunted by economic uncertainty and businesses can t afford to carry employees who are at best unmotivated and at worst quietly sapping goodwill and energy from their co-workers. A strong competitive position hinges on a strong team, one where everyone is doing their best.

While most businesses have had to grapple with employee dissatisfaction at one point or another, some studies show that nearly half of global businesses experienced a decline in employee engagement in the second quarter of last year (Hewitt Associates, July 29/10 link to http://www2.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/AboutHewitt/Newsroom/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?cid=8775); other studies are indicating a high percentage of employees are planning to leave their current place of employment as soon as job prospects brighten.

Why is this important? Here are some thoughts:

1. Employees who are unhappy at work obviously can t put forth their best efforts and this hampers the organization s ability to compete. There are inevitable implications for overall employee morale, and the eventual departure of key people means spending more money to replace them. It s a no-win situation and smart companies today are working to improve the situation.

Fundamental issues like trust, training, line of sight between employee performance and company performance and relationships with management all play into employee engagement; it s challenging.

2. Simply making these changes won t automatically create employee commitment: organizations need to communicate their efforts over time with energy and integrity. Traditional channels like newsletters, magazines and reports are still tried and true methods of strengthening inter-company bonds but businesses are increasingly venturing into the world of blogs, videos, podcasts and intranet programming as well. The goal isn t just to stop the exodus of key employees it s also to create some excitement around the concept of being part of a great team one that employees view with pride.

3. Writing is one of those skills that just isn t going to go away while it was important back in the day when print was king, it s still the functional tool used to convey information and motivate a desired response. Making it all come together to support management objectives involves a careful balance between genuine enthusiasm for the great work that s being done and professional reporting of what s really going on. Too much rah-rah and employees roll their eyes with cries of here we go again. Too little excitement and no-one will bother reading past the first line.

As a writer engaged in the corporate communications process, I find my role is not just to balance competing needs but also to function as an ambassador for the communications department that has hired me to do the job. Good relationships in all areas of the company are important in ensuring information and cooperation on future projects will be forthcoming. While good writing is important, trust is a key part of the package.

Many organizations hire freelance corporate communication copywriters like me to extend existing resources on an as-needed basis. It s economical and with the right writer an efficient way to support the drive to keep employees engaged in their work. But the writer is still just one piece of the puzzle no matter how pretty the words are, management vision and a sincere commitment to improve problem areas are needed. Nobody wants words without meaning.

About the Author: Susan Crossman is a career writer who promotes excellence in communication through writing with clarity. Her freelance writing services include web content,newsletters,reports,speeches and other custom documentation. For more details, please visit her website at

crossmancommunications.com

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