Creative Assignment 1 – Your Favorite Local Landscape Tree or Shrub
Objective: Develop a blog entry about your favorite local landscape tree or shrub.This creative assignment is worth 25 points.
Your blog entry should include an insert of a digital image of you standing next to your favorite landscape tree or shrub and the information about this plant that is listed below. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FOR TEXT AND IMAGE OF YOU WITH YOUR PLANT IN A NATURAL SETTING SUCH AS IN THE DESERT, FOREST, MEADOW, BEACH ETC.
Along with your inserted image include the following information as text:
- A personal greeting from you to theclass.
- The identity of the landscape tree or shrub with its common name and scientific name (Genus and species). (See Sunset textbook pages738-739 on how to understand scientific names).
- For example: Butiacapitata (scientific name), the common name is Pindo palm. Arecaceae is the family name for the majority of palms and is not the correct nomenclature for a single species of palm.
- Tell us why it is yourfavorite.
- Give some pertinent and important information on whether this plant is adapted to our climate in Phoenix. If it is not adapted to Phoenix and the desert, then tell us where in the western USA it can be grown. Refer to “The West’s Climate Zones” section of your text to determine thisinformation (16-41).
- Finally, add a short paragraph on the cultural requirements to grow this plant such as watering, sunlight and possible stress or pest problem, and any other information about this plant that may be of interest, i.e. “Is the plant or its parts edible? Does it have cool looking flowers or fruit? What color are they, andwhat time of year are they produced by the plant?” Use your textbook and /or other resources (check out the External Links for Trees and Shrubs) to obtain this information.
All about your digital image:
To create a digital image you can use a digital camera or a smartphone. Make sure that your image is of you with your favorite local Phoenix landscape tree or shrub. Sorry a vacation image of you standing next to a pine tree in Grand Canyon National Park will not count! No credit for Internet images.
Creative assignment 1 grading rubric
| Pts | Item | |
| 15 | – | Well-written information posted to the blog spot which addresses completely and accurately all five points above |
| 5 | – | image of your favorite local landscape tree or shrub inserted into your blog entry |
| 5 | – | the inclusion of yourself in the image |
Some common point deductions
-5 image with a broken link and not
visible to instructor (download from computer, no drag and drop)
-3 for improperly oriented images (i.e., sideways, upside down) Edit your photos on computer before inserting.
-5 for yourself not in the image
-10 for every day the blog is posted late past the module deadline
-4 for completely wrong plant identification
-2 for misspelling or posting the wrong scientific plant name (genus and species)