landscape gardening

Process of arranging land, plants, and objects for human use and enjoyment, usually with long and close-up views. Cyclical growth and seasonal changes provide a continuous sense of time and natural rhythms that is absent in buildings and sculptures. Gardens and designed landscapes fill in the open areas in cities and create continuity between urban structures and open rural lands beyond. Landscape-gardening areas may be of any size, from small urban courtyards and suburban gardens to many thousands of acres in regional, state, or national parks. Every landscape garden reflects attitudes toward nature and humans, revealing much about a culture and a period.

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