Download or read book A Garden Book for Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast written by Lynn M. Herbert and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since it was first published in 1929, more than eight decades ago, A Garden Book for Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast has been the authoritative go-to book on gardening for Houstonians and Texas Gulf Coast residents. This fifth revised edition, written and edited by Lynn M. Herbert, has been entirely updated, expanded, and colorfully redesigned. In the process, information in the book was reviewed by over 100 professionals in related fields and by knowledgeable resident gardeners, men and women who generously donated their efforts to make this an invaluable resource for seasoned gardeners as well as neophytes and newcomers to the region. This edition, still in its handbook format, propels its content into the twenty-first century with a new emphasis on environmentally friendly gardening and native plants, including: Exhaustive plant lists describing the newest varieties as well as old favorites, with essential designations of plants native to the Houston and Texas Gulf Coast area Easy-to-read tables, full of details about caring for hundreds of local plants User-friendly information about your soil and how to make it most productive Chapters on major plant categories joined by additional chapters devoted to in-depth tips on azaleas, cacti and other succulents, camellias, ferns, and roses, along with the all-new "Grasses and Bamboos" and "Palms and Cycads" chapters A new emphasis on "The Edible Garden" with expanded chapters covering "Herbs," "Vegetables," and "Fruit and Nut Trees" Complete landscape instructions on how to plan and design your garden to fit your lot and your lifestyle, from a shaded setting to a fragrant garden, an oasis by the Gulf, a container garden, or plants to attract birds and butterflies Updated ideas on drainage, pruning, watering, and lawns and lawn alternatives A newly revised look at coping with "Weather Extremes" such as freezes, hurricanes, or droughts An encyclopedic index that includes both botanical and common names 672 pages with 435 color photographs of flowers, plants, and gardens - the cream of the crop from the coastal area Beloved and consulted for generations and called by many the bible of Houston gardening, A Garden Book is now even more indispensable. This latest edition reaffirms the commitment of the River Oaks Garden Club to preserving our environment, promoting sustainability, and planting with a purpose. Book jacket.

Download or read book Energy Metropolis written by Martin V. Melosi and published by University of Pittsburgh Pre. This book was released on 2007-07-01 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Houston's meteoric rise from a bayou trading post to the world's leading oil supplier owes much to its geography, geology, and climate: the large natural port of Galveston Bay, the lush subtropical vegetation, the abundance of natural resources. But the attributes that have made it attractive for industry, energy, and urban development have also made it particularly susceptible to a variety of environmental problems. Energy Metropolis presents a comprehensive history of the development of Houston, examining the factors that have facilitated unprecedented growth-and the environmental cost of that development.The landmark Spindletop strike of 1901 made inexpensive high-grade Texas oil the fuel of choice for ships, industry, and the infant automobile industry. Literally overnight, oil wells sprang up around Houston. In 1914, the opening of the Houston Ship Channel connected the city to the Gulf of Mexico and international trade markets. Oil refineries sprouted up and down the channel, and the petroleum products industry exploded. By the 1920s, Houston also became a leading producer of natural gas, and the economic opportunities and ancillary industries created by the new energy trade led to a population boom. By the end of the twentieth century, Houston had become the fourth largest city in America.Houston's expansion came at a price, however. Air, water, and land pollution reached hazardous levels as legislators turned a blind eye. Frequent flooding of altered waterways, deforestation, hurricanes, the energy demands of an air-conditioned lifestyle, increased automobile traffic, exponential population growth, and an ever-expanding metropolitan area all escalated the need for massive infrastructure improvements. The experts in Energy Metropolis examine the steps Houston has taken to overcome laissez-faire politics, indiscriminate expansion, and infrastructural overload. What emerges is a profound analysis of the environmental consequences of large-scale energy production and unchecked growth.

Download or read book Houston Garden Book written by John Kriegel and published by Shearer Pub. This book was released on 1991-01-01 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers advice to gardeners on how to cope with the climateand soil of the Texas Gulf Coast region, reviewing the basics of how plants grow, soil preparation, planting and maintenance, and pest control; and featuring descriptions of major landscape plants, seasonal flowers, tropicals, vegetables, and table crops.

Download or read book Del Pueblo written by Thomas H. Kreneck and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2012-02-13 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though relatively small in number until the latter decades of the nineteenth century, Houston'sHispanic population possesses a rich and varied history that has previously not been readily associated in the popular imagination with Houston. However, in 1989, the first edition of Thomas H. Kreneck’s Del Pueblo vividly captured the depth and breadth of Houston’s Hispanic people, illustrating both the obstacles and the triumphs that characterized this vital community’s rise to prominence during the twentieth century. This new, revised edition of Del Pueblo: A History of Houston’s Hispanic Community updates that vibrant history, incorporating research on trends and changes through the beginning of the new millennium. Especially important in this new edition are Kreneck’s historical contextualization of the 1980s as the “Decade of the Hispanic” and his documentation of other significant developments taking place since the publication of the original edition. Illustrated with seventy-five photographs of significant people, places, and events, this new edition of Del Pueblo: A History of Houston’s Hispanic Community updates the unfolding story of one of the nation’s most influential and dynamic ethnic groups. Students and scholars of Mexican American and Hispanic issues and culture, as well as general readers interested in this important aspect of Houston and regional history, will not want to be without this important book.

Download or read book Birdlife of Houston Galveston and the Upper Texas Coast written by Ted L. Eubanks and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2006-10-03 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last thirty years, the Upper Texas Coast has become a “must go” destination for birders around the globe. This book will serve as an essential companion to the customary field guide and pair of binoculars for all visitors to Houston, High Island, Galveston, Freeport, or any of the area’s other exciting birding spots. It also places the birdlife of the region, a seven-county area with a larger bird list than forty-three states, into historical and ecological contexts. Authors Eubanks, Behrstock, and Weeks—all recognized authorities on the migrant and resident birds of this region—present a thorough introduction to the area’s history, physiography, and avifauna. Then, in generous discussions of bird families and species, they synthesize years of records, tracking the comings and goings of more than 480 birds and incorporating their own lifetimes of experience to create an “ornithological mosaic” of lasting significance.

Download or read book A Texan Plan for the Texas Coast written by James B. Blackburn and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2017-10-13 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this powerful call to action, conservationist and environmental lawyer Jim Blackburn offers an unconventional yet feasible plan to protect the Texas coast. The coast is in danger of being damaged beyond repair due to the gradual starvation of freshwater inflows to its bays, the fragmentation of large tracts of land, and general public neglect. Most importantly, it is threatened by our denial that the coast faces major threats and that its long-term health provides significant economic benefits. To save coastal resources, a successful plan needs to address the realities of our current world. The challenge is to sustain an economy that creates optimism and entrepreneurship while considering finite natural resources. In other words, a successful plan to save the Texas coast needs to be about making money. Whether visiting with farmers and ranchers or oil and chemical producers, Blackburn recognizes that when talking about the natural environment in monetary terms, people listen. Many of the services we get from the coast are beginning to be studied for their dollar values, a trend that might offer Texas farms and ranches the potential for cash flow, which may in turn alter conservation practices throughout Texas and the United States. Money alone cannot be the only motivation for caring about the Texas coast, though. Blackburn encourages Texans to get to know this landscape better. Beautifully illustrated and accessibly written, A Texan Plan for the Texas Coast weaves together a challenging but promising plan to protect the coast through economic motivation, thoughtful litigation, informed appreciation, and simple affection for the beauty and life found on the Texas coast.

Download or read book One Amazing Thing written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2010-02-02 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An acclaimed novel by the author of The Mistress of Spices, and Before We Visit the Goddess. Jhumpa Lahiri praises: "One Amazing Thing collapses the walls dividing characters and cultures; what endures is a chorus of voices in one single room." Late afternoon sun sneaks through the windows of a passport and visa office in an unnamed American city. Most customers and even most office workers have come and gone, but nine people remain. A punky teenager with an unexpected gift. An upper-class Caucasian couple whose relationship is disintegrating. A young Muslim-American man struggling with the fallout of 9/11. A graduate student haunted by a question about love. An African-American ex-soldier searching for redemption. A Chinese grandmother with a secret past. And two visa office workers on the verge of an adulterous affair. When an earthquake rips through the afternoon lull, trapping these nine characters together, their focus first jolts to their collective struggle to survive. There's little food. The office begins to flood. Then, at a moment when the psychological and emotional stress seems nearly too much for them to bear, the young graduate student suggests that each tell a personal tale, "one amazing thing" from their lives, which they have never told anyone before. And as their surprising stories of romance, marriage, family, political upheaval, and self-discovery unfold against the urgency of their life-or-death circumstances, the novel proves the transcendent power of stories and the meaningfulness of human expression itself. From Chitra Divakaruni, author of such finely wrought, bestselling novels as Sister of My Heart, The Palace of Illusions, and The Mistress of Spices, comes her most compelling and transporting story to date. One Amazing Thing is a passionate creation about survival -- and about the reasons to survive.

Download or read book Plants for Houston and the Gulf Coast written by Howard Garrett and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether you're a first-time homeowner, dedicated gardener, or landscape professional, if you're gardening on the Gulf Coast, you need Howard Garrett's Plants for Houston and the Gulf Coast. Garrett is one of Texas's top organic gardening experts, and gardeners rely on him for accurate, sensible advice about what to plant and how to maintain healthy yards and landscapes without synthetic fertilizers and toxic pesticides. In Plants for Houston and the Gulf Coast, Garrett presents nearly 400 plants, both native and adapted, that grow well in Southeast Texas. Like all of Howard Garrett's books, Plants for Houston and the Gulf Coast is loaded with indispensable gardening information: Nearly 400 trees, shrubs, groundcovers and vines, annuals and perennials, and grasses 400 full-color, close-up photos of the plants Expert information about each plant's appearance, growing requirements, landscape uses, potential problems, and other interesting facts Precise, easy-to-follow instructions about how to design a garden, prepare the soil, install trees and other plants, grow grass and control weeds, and maintain the landscape and control pests A detailed gardening calendar for Southeast Texas that lists specific plants to plant and maintenance tasks to perform each month No other book currently available provides such extensive and reliable information for Texas Gulf Coast gardeners.

Download or read book The Formation and Future of the Upper Texas Coast written by John B. Anderson and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2007-05-24 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With strong personal and professional ties to the Gulf of Mexico, marine geologist John B. Anderson has spent two decades studying the Texas coastline and continental shelf. In this book, he sets out to answer fundamental questions that are frequently asked about the coast—how it evolved; how it operates; how natural processes affect it and why it is ever changing; and, finally, how human development can be managed to help preserve it. The book provides an amply illustrated look at ocean waves and currents, beach formation and erosion, barrier island evolution, hurricanes, and sea level changes. With an abundance of visual material—including aerial photos, historical maps, simple figures, and satellite images—the author presents a lively, interesting lesson in coastal geography that readers will remember and appreciate the next time they are at the beach and want to know: What happens to the sand that erodes from our beaches? Can beach erosion be stopped—and should we try? How much sand will be needed to stabilize our beaches? Does a hurricane have any positive impacts? How much development can the coast withstand? This entertaining and instructive book provides authoritative answers to these and other questions that are essential to our understanding of coastal change.

Download or read book Traveling the Shore of the Spanish Sea written by Geoff Winningham and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2010-02-15 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a work of sweeping breadth and beauty, Geoff Winningham has created a profusely illustrated, contemplative travel journal that showcases his talent as both a photographer and a writer and reveals his affection and respect for the two countries he calls home. In 2003, photographer Geoff Winningham saw for the first time both the southern coast of Veracruz, with its volcanoes, rain forests, and steep mountains, and the Texas coast near High Island, where the land seems to stretch endlessly, covered by a sea of salt grass. He decided that these two visually striking areas could be the beginning and end points of a photographic study that would also engage the two cultures in which he had lived for twenty years, the U.S. and Mexico. Now, seven years and more than a hundred trips later, Traveling the Shore of the Spanish Sea: The Gulf Coast of Texas and Mexico is the result. In this beautifully illustrated and engagingly written book, Winningham also considers the role that the Gulf of Mexico played in the discovery and exploration of the New World. Winningham's journey begins east of High Island, in Port Arthur, where the images suggest a cautionary tale relating to the oil industry and the land. It ends twelve hundred miles down the coast at the end of an old, stone road in tropical terrain of almost indescribable beauty, overlooking the sea. In between, more than two hundred photographs include natural landscapes (ranging from unspoiled to completely despoiled), roadside architecture and signage, and images of people Winningham met. As he attempts to come to terms with the disturbing changes he witnessed to the coastal environment, the book also contains elements of a poignant, personal lament for what is being lost. Traveling the Shore of the Spanish Sea: The Gulf Coast of Texas and Mexico will delight and enchant readers with its deeply felt personal narrative and the power and beauty of its images.

Download or read book Glorious Gulf of Mexico written by Jesse Cancelmo and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2016-02-22 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stunned by widespread ignorance about the Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 Macondo oil spill, underwater photographer Jesse Cancelmo decided to turn his camera on the marine life of this 600,000 square mile international sea that connects five US states, six Mexican states, and the island nation of Cuba. With the goal of countering dismissive descriptions of a Gulf plagued with dead zones and overrun by oil rigs, Cancelmo set out to capture a world rarely acknowledged, let alone seen. Between the Gulf's rich shoreline habitats and its prolific oceanic communities, thriving amid dazzling coral reefs, brine seeps, canyons, salt domes, and hard bottom banks, are more than 15,000 species, including an iconic cast of sea animals: sperm whales, manta rays, whale sharks, manatees, spotted dolphins, and more. Capturing images from locations all around the Gulf, Cancelmo reveals the beauty and glory of these diverse habitats and species. Although this is a book of sensational underwater photography, Cancelmo intends it to be more than a celebration of oceanic beauty. He also hopes to inspire better understanding and appreciation of the natural marine habitats in the Gulf and to strengthen support for their protection and sustainment.

Download or read book Texas Gulf Coast Stories written by C. Herndon Williams and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2010-12-03 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The middle Texas coast, known locally as the Coast Bend, is an area filled with fascinating stories. From as early as the days of de Vaca and La Salle, the Coastal Bend has been a site of early exploration, bloody conflicts, legendary shipwrecks and even a buried treasure or two. However, much of the true history has remained unknown, misunderstood and even hidden. For years, local historian C. Herndon Williams has shared his fascinating discoveries of the area's early stories through his weekly column, "Coastal Bend Chronicle." Now he has selected some of his favorites in Texas Gulf Coast Stories. Join Williams as he explores the days of early settlement and European contact, Karankawa and Tonkawa legends and the Coastal Bend's tallest of tall tales.

Download or read book Buildings of Texas written by Gerald Moorhead and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book, the first of two volumes devoted to the Lone Star State, covers the central, southern, and Gulf Coast region (the earliest areas of Spanish and Anglo settlement and the majority of the counties that won independence from Mexico in 1836) and includes four major cities--Austin, Corpus Christi, Houston, and San Antonio."--Publisher's description.

Download or read book Gulf Coast Gardening written by Randy Lemmon and published by . This book was released on 2005-07-01 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Randy Lemmon is the host of Houston's GardenLine radio program, on Clear Channel's TalkRadio 950 KPRC. Over 1.4 million Houstonians garden for a hobby or pastime, and GardenLine is where they listen for advice and information on gardening and landscaping. Every Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m.-noon, GardenLine's Randy Lemmon answers listeners' questions on everything from aphids to zoysias. He's Houston's absolute expert on lawns and gardens, offering help to listeners both with and without "green thumbs." Randy's a Texas Aggie who truly KNOWS plants and flowers. He explains them with ease and candor, and is as competent a "plant" person as there is. He studies, and he practices. He embraces "new methods" as well as the "old" ways of dealing with problems. Gulf Coast Gardening with Randy Lemmon is the first book in a new series he has authored, to be published through Our House Press (the non-fiction division of Cyber-Pulp Press).

Download or read book Surf Texas written by Kenny Braun and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2014-03-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The urge to ride a wave, the search for the next perfect swell, is an enduring preoccupation that draws people to coastlines around the world. In recent decades, surfing has grown into a multimillion-dollar industry with over three million surfers in the United States alone and an international competitive circuit that draws top surfers to legendary beaches in Hawaii, California, and Australia. But away from the crowds and the hype, dedicated surfers catch waves in places like the Texas Gulf Coast for the pure pleasure of being in harmony with life, their sport, and the ocean. Kenny Braun knows that primal pleasure, as both a longtime Texas surfer and a fine art photographer who has devoted years to capturing the surf culture on Texas beaches. In Surf Texas, he presents an eloquent photo essay that portrays the enduring fascination of surfing, as well as the singular and sometimes unexpected beauty of the coast. Texas is one of the top six surfing states in America, and Braun uses evocative black-and-white photography to reveal the essence of the surfers' world from Galveston to South Padre. His images catch the drama of shooting the waves, those moments of skill and daring as riders rip across the breaking face, as well as the downtime of bobbing on swells like seabirds and hanging out on the beach with friends. Braun also photographs the place—beaches and dunes, skies and storms, surf shops, motels, and parking lots—with a native's knowing eye for defining details. Elegant and timeless, this vision of the Texas Coast is redolent of sea breezes and salt air and the memories and dreams they evoke. Surfer or not, everyone who feels the primeval attraction of wind and waves will enjoy Surf Texas.

Download or read book Gulf Coast Kitchens written by Constance Snow and published by Clarkson Potter Publishers. This book was released on 2003 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of recipes for various dishes inspired by the cuisine of the Gulf Coast.

Download or read book Literary Houston written by David Theis and published by Texas Christian University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fifth in the "Literary Cities" series, Literary Houston gathers together historical and contemporary writing about this Texas city that everyone loves to hate. Rather than organize the pieces chronologically, Editor David Theis has assembled works according to themes such as biography and memoir; visitors; the city itself; events; poetry; and fiction. From Cabeza de Vaca's early experiences to the Enron debacle, Theis presents Houston in a new, critical light. After the Battle of San Jacinto, perhaps no one but the Allen brothers, land speculators from New York, could have imagined a city growing on the forlorn banks of Buffalo Bayou. But in what was the city's first, but certainly not last, work of fiction, they sold their vision of a great city growing in a place that "Nature appears to have Designated... for the future Government. It is handsome and beautifully elevated, salubrious and well watered." Well, Houston is well watered. Undeterred by the mosquitoes and the general swampiness of the land, Houston grew immediately and attracted such pen-in-hand nineteenth-century visitors as Frederick Law Olmstead and Andrew Sweet. The city has been the subject of sometimes appalled, sometimes thrilled commentary by passsers-through ever since; such vistors as H.L. Mencken, Jan Morris, Stanley Crouch, Norman Mailer, Ada Louise Huxtable, and even Simone de Beauvoir have reported on what they found. But it's in the stories of Houstonians themselves (even the temporary Houstonians) that the city's reason for being best comes into focus. It's been a city of driven, ambitious people who often made an early mark here and moved on: Howard Hughes; Barbara Jordan; Walter Cronkite; the two Albert Guerards, father and son; and musicians like Lightnin' Hopkins, Willie Nelson, and Townes Van Zandt, to name a few. Important writers have grown up here: Donald Barthelme, Vassar Miller, Rick Bass. Other authors, like prose writers Larry McMurtry, Antonya Nelson, Mary Gaitskill, Phillip Lopate, Rosellen Brown, and Max Apple, and poets Tony Hoagland, Edward Hirsch, and Mark Doty came here to study, teach, and write. The city has fostered a burgeoning writing community outside the university. Lorenzo Thomas, Rich Levy, Daniel Rifenburgh and numerous others have left their marks on a city that defies easy description.