Quick Fix Planting Schemes To Enhance Garden Feng Shui
Posted on 09. Apr, 2012 by admin in Feng Shui Gardens
When incorporating Feng Shui design in to the home many people concentrate on the interior of the home and forget that the garden is just as important. When looking to bring balance and harmony to our immediate environment to attract what we desire to our life we should always focus on the whole of our environment. That includes our garden and the area immediately outside our own boundary as well as the interior of our home.
I returned home to Le Plantis our home in France at the beginning of the Easter weekend after a busy few weeks working in the UK. Driving down the road towards the house I was immediately struck with the changes that had happened to our environment even in a period of just five weeks. Everything seemed much more alive than when I had left. I find this time of year very special when plants and trees turn green, the spring flowers are out in full bloom in the meadows and the vines that surround our home are just starting to show the first new shoots of the year. After the coolness of the yin winter the cycle of the universe is turning towards yang and the earth as a result is becoming brighter and more colourful.
Over the winter months we have been having yet more work done to the outside of our home which has meant that we have had heavy machinery driving up and down our garden again. Even the first green leaves of the wisteria, the yellow and purple spring flowers in full bud underneath our hedges and the beautiful pink and white blossom on our fruit trees can’t disguise the destruction to our garden. Having spent the full Easter weekend in the garden trying to bring some order to the chaos my thoughts have turned to how I can make some quick fixes in the garden so that in the summer the areas of the garden that have been affected by the works look less like a building site and more like the tranquil garden of my dreams. The last few days have therefore seen me sowing seeds and planting small bushes to disguise the worst of the destruction.
As I have been concentrating on quick fixes I can make to my garden this weekend I decided to share some quick fix planting schemes with you so that you can strengthen the Feng Shui in your garden. Hopefully you will not have the chaos that I am currently dealing with and so will find it easy to implement these enhancements (and quickly reap the benefits). All of these plants are very simple to grow and not only help you attract what you desire to your life but will also increase the beauty of your outside space.
Bamboo
One of the most auspicious plants in Feng Shui, the bamboo lifts the energy in an area and signifies good luck, wealth and abundance. Plant bamboo in any neglected areas to raise the profile of the space or alternatively plant in the south east sector of your garden to bring wealth and good fortune in to your home.
Peonies
The national flower of China the peony is also a very auspicious plant for love, luck and wealth. Plant a bed or border of pink peonies in the south west sector of your garden if you want to attract love to your life or plant red peonies in the south east sector of the garden to attract greater wealth in to your home
Plum and Cherry trees
The blossom on both of these fruit trees signify the the return of spring and new beginnings. If you want to start on a new phase of your life plant one of these trees in either the east or the south east sector of your garden. We have a plum tree in the eastern most corner of our garden and I am always reminded of the wonderful new opportunities life throws my way every time I see the morning sun rising above the branches.
Pomegranate tree
Pomegranates are filled with numerous seeds and so are thought of as a symbol of fertility. If you are currently having difficulty in conceiving plant a pomegranate tree in the west of your garden, the area which represents children and creativity.
Narcissus
The lovely cream and yellow Narcissus are symbols of hard work and talent and so are known to be very supportive for your career fortunes. If you want to strengthen your business, gain a promotion at work or embark on a successful career change plant bunches of narcissus in the north of your garden.
Finally the most auspicious colour in Feng Shui is yellow which symbolises health, longevity, and good fortune. To make the most of any opportunities that come your way plant yellow flowers in the front garden of your home and the entrance to your driveway.
Feng Shui Gardens – How Creating Balance Brings Harmony To Your Life
Posted on 30. Jun, 2011 by admin in Feng Shui Gardens
I recently spent the weekend with friends in Wales. They live in a beautiful farmhouse in the Brecon Beacons, the house perched on the side of a hill is set in 2 acres of gardens with a further 6 acres of woodland beyond. The interior of the house is in the process of being completely renovated and whilst the renovations have been going on,the gardens have been left largely untouched save for the addition of a large pond which has been stocked with rainbow trout. When I asked what further plans they had for the garden they explained that the intention was to leave it as a wild garden keeping it as natural as possible to attract and be a haven for wildlife and this desire is certainly starting to be fulfilled as this overgrown, rambling garden looks and feels no different from the beautiful welsh countryside that surrounds it.
What struck me as I sat on a wooden bench on Sunday morning taking in the views both towards the house and beyond, was not only how the garden fitted in with the surrounding countryside but how in tune the house was with the environment. With flowers and weeds growing next to each other, plants tumbling over stone walls and climbing up the sides of the house, trees soaring towards the sky providing shade and birds flying around the chimneys and through the open windows the house, a mixture of natural stone and white walls felt as though it had been there forever.
When I teach people the practical application of Feng Shui I always stress the importance of creating a balanced environment where everything works together in perfect harmony. If you have created a balanced and harmonious environment you are half way to creating one that is filled with positive Feng Shui. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot more to creating positive Feng Shui than creating balance but this should always be your starting point. And creating a balanced environment is easy if you understand the principles of yin and yang.
Yin and yang are the opposite forces that make up the universe. My page on yin and yang which can be accessed from the menu bar on the left explains yin and yang in detail, but in a nutshell yin is dark, quiet, restful, still, curved and natural whilst yang is bright, light, loud, active, angular and manmade. When looking at the environment in the context of your home and garden, houses being manmade structures represent yang energy. It is therefore important that gardens are kept relatively yin to bring about that sense of harmony and oneness.
So what is a yin garden and how do you go about creating balance between home and garden? Well my friend’s garden in Wales is a perfect example of a garden that is yin. A yin garden is one that is kept as natural as possible, a garden which works with the environment as opposed to one which seeks to create an environment. Flowers, bushes and trees should always be kept as natural as possible and allowed to flourish without being aggressively pruned, colours should be kept predominantly muted with brightness kept to a minimum and any pathways or terraces should be kept curved and flowing. Any structures, such as raised beds, sheds or pagodas should ideally be made out of natural materials and covered with plants that are encouraged to grow over and around them. To help your home blend with the garden the sharp corners of the house should be disguised and covered with trailing plants or bushes so that the whole sense you get when you look at your home and garden is one where they look as though they belong together. The lines between where the house ends and the garden begins should be blurred and indistinct.
Sadly a lot of gardens that you see in the UK nowadays don’t seem to adhere to these principles, meaning that any Feng Shui cures or enhancements that people make have to work twice as hard to have the desired effects. In an attempt to create more time for ourselves we strive to create attractive gardens that are low maintenance but quite often these gardens look unnatural and out of place and take a huge amount of our personal energy to keep them looking good. The sad irony is that my friend’s two acres of natural wild garden is actually the lowest maintenance garden you can possibly have.
I couldn’t help but contemplate this fact as I stared out of the train window on Sunday afternoon. Many of the gardens I looked at through the window were landscaped and included ponds, patios and pathways, there was an abundance of pots and garden ornaments and the predominant fashion was for lots of shingle and concrete and large decked areas. In a lot of cases it was obvious that a lot of care, attention and money had been lavished on these outside spaces. But what they lacked was greenery and balance. The gardens looked like an extension of the house, attractive, modern, well cared for but ultimately artificial. With neat, sharp lines and heavy use of manmade materials such as concrete and brick the gardens like the house were full of yang energy.
An environment that is predominantly yang will cause energy to move too fast in a jerky, disjointed motion. If your environment is too yang you may find yourself living life from one crisis to another, constantly living on the back foot and trying to find an extra hour in each day. If this describes your life, rather than immediately reaching for a Feng Shui enhancement or cure first of all assess your environment to check that your home and outside space adequately reflect the principles of yin and yang. And if your garden is full of neat lines and an abundance of concrete let nature start to take over. Creating the perfect, or almost perfect balance between yin and yang is the first step in your journey to filling your environment with positive Feng Shui.
