When seen from below by a predator, the animal's light helps to match its brightness and colour to the sea surface above. Counter-illumination is a method of active camouflage seen in marine animals such as firefly squid and midshipman fish, and in military prototypes, producing light to match their backgrounds. Marine animals of the mesopelagic (mid-water) zone tend to appear dark against the bright water surface when seen from below.
A landscape is usually made up of a hardscape and a softscape which means the trees, plants and grass. The use of boulders, tiles, sculptures, walkways or bird baths can be used to create a beautiful sitting area, a place for entertaining guests, or an outdoor cooking space.
Today's waste-efficient landscapes use unthirsty plants--California natives and drought tolerant exotics. Proper soil preparation, garden layout, and planting time assures that plants can mature into beautiful specimens with minimal trimming. In a word, the modern approach to California landscaping is xeriscaping.hile xeriscape translates to mean dry scene, in practice xeriscaping means simply landscaping with slow-growing, drought tolerant plants to conserve water and reduce yard trimmings. The practice of xeriscaping will vary from region to region in California.