Feng Shui Garden
If you have an excellent feng shui for your house but if it is not balanced with your garden then your efforts will be wasted. This is because a home’s garden represents a homeowner’s future. An untidy garden could create stagnant chi and this harmful chi can very easily end up in your home.
One of the main goal in feng shui garden is to raise the level of chi and make sure that it moves freely and smoothly (not too slow and not too fast) throughout the space. Chi that is moving too fast can actually create an unpleasant environment and make you feel agitated instead of relaxed. Paths should never be straight, as chi would run too quickly towards your home. A curved path encourages chi to move more freely and slowly.
How to Organize Your Garden
- You can start by removing clutter from your garden which can block the flow of positive chi. Remove plants that are dead and place plants, statues, flowers and other auspicious items that creates a sense of peace and inspiration. Hide the rubbish bins behind a screen if possible. Keep your lawn trimmed, patios clean, borders clear, pay particular attention to the front door and make sure it is unobstructed as well as no paintwork is peeling on the door. You can use trailing plants on edges of sheds or garden buildings if you want to so that harsh edges can be soften, but do not let them overgrow or blocking the light. If you have a BBQ have it in the south as it will stimulate the fire energy.
- Feng shui is about balancing, so make sure you put the right elements together in a way that they wont cancel each other out. Balance is created by mixing different shapes, colors and sizes of plants so that no one species is overwhelmed by another. For example, too much Metal element can “destroy” the Wood element, which leads to unbalance in the garden. The feel of a garden is very different when there is a balance of yin and yang, and no one element is dominant.
- The earth can be represented with stones that people often use them to create pathways and walkways. Square shapes also represent earth element.
- Water can be included with a water garden or fountain. Water element can also be represented with meandering shapes, both in paths and in planting.
- Fire can be achieved with the red colors of flowers and plants, along with ornaments and lighting. Fire is suggested in plants with triangle and pyramid shapes as well as plants with pointed leaves.
- A metal bench, ornament or statue can bring metal to the area. Round shapes and domes also represent metal element.
- Wood is natural through the presence of trees, shrubs and plants.
- This is not to say that your garden must have something of every color and shape. An old Chinese saying “Too many colors blind the eye”, gardens that have many brightly colored ornaments, plants and features may make an incredible visual show but they are not conducive to relaxation or harmony.
- Gently flowing water, entering a clean and healthy pool from the east, is very auspicious. Silver and gold colored fish symbolize money and therefore found in abundance in China. Your pool may be square but the planting should create a kidney-shaped arrangement so that it looks like hugging the home protectively. Pagodas are often placed in the SW and NE to keep evil influences at bay. Those directions are referred to as “Doors of the Devil” because they are the directions of the prevailing winds.
- You can apply bagua to your garden as well. All the nine Life Sectors should be present in the garden. And if one of the sectors is “missing”, that could also means that the corresponding area in your life have problems. According to feng shui, enhancing the chi in a Life Sector in your garden will increase abundance in that area of your life.
- The classic Four Animal formation governs the placement of each building and each vista in a garden. The backdrop, in the Tortoise position, is something solid, like a clump of pine trees or a rock, with shrubs and trees or more rocks to the east in the Dragon Position. To the west, the area should be lower and flatter to keep the Tiger’s unpredictable energy under control, and in front, in the Phoenix Position, can be a small clump of trees or a small rock to mark the boundary of the garden space.
- Types of plants are important, do not use cactus or plants that have spikes as these plants create aggression and tension. Every plant is endowed with yin or yang depending on its qualities or the symbolism of the character which represents it in the Chinese language. Plants with fat succulent leaves are considered very auspicious. Large overbearing trees at the front of your house are not good, always try to have them no higher than two thirds of the house.
