Energy-efficient landscaping is a type of landscaping designed for the purpose of conserving energy. There is a distinction between the embedded energy of materials and constructing the landscape, and the energy consumed by the maintenance and operations of a landscape. Terminology and definition Landscaping often refers to the practice of landscape design and gardening, which traditionally concern with designing sites with vegetation and craft for aesthetic, cultural, social, and religious purposes. Landscape architecture and landscape engineering, on the other hand, are multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary professions that integrate technical considerations, such as geography, ecology, biology,and engineering, into the design of landscape and the actualization of it. Energy-efficient landscaping falls into the categories of the latter, and it stresses the energy conservation in site operation or the creation of the site. Among its various term usage, energy-efficient landscaping can refer to the reduction of energy usage in maintenance and operation of the landscape narrowly for the user/owner of the site, or broadly for the energy conservation of the global environment, such as mitigating urban heat island effect with reflective surface (increase albedo) or reducing the need of water treatment and sewage by using pervious pavement. Common methods of energy-efficient landscaping include reducing heat or cooling load of a building through shade, wind-blocking, and insulation; management of water; and using plants or construction material that cost less energy. Methods and techniques Design techniques include: Shade with trees Planting trees for the purpose of providing shade, which reduces cooling costs. The mature height of the trees and their canopy shape need to be well studied. The location of the trees should be designed based on their height and the height of the building. Also, when trees are plant closer to the windows or walls, they will provide shade for greater portion of the day as the Sun keep changing its relative position to the window and the trees. Planting the trees too close to the building, however, is also not desirable, as it might cause the danger of touching above-ground or underground utility lines. The type of leaves of the trees is also important. Broad-leaf evergreens like Southern magnolia can be used to provide dense year-round shade. However, needle-leaf evergreens like pines and cedars can provide more air circulation though their shade is sparser and more open. Not only can tree shade be utilized to reduce the cooling load in building, it can also