Learn the Basics of Feng Shui Gardening Quickly
Creating or building your garden is very important for your home. In my case, it’s more important than the inside of my home because I love the outdoors. I enjoy being out in the garden for coffee in the morning, lunches, social gatherings, to read, and for any other excuse I can think of. Feng shui in the garden only requires understanding a few basic principles, and does not require a degree.
The first basic principle to understand about feng shui is that it is not a religion. Feng shui doesn’t require the belief in any god; it is simply the art of perfect placement to maximize good energy. In order to get the maximum peace and harmony into your garden, it is important to balance the energy and correctly place all of the elements that will be in the garden. Feng Shui literally translates to “wind and water”, so these are two elements you must obviously have in your garden
Water in your garden can take many forms. You can have a waterfall, creek, pond, or even just a running fountain or two. I like the sound of running or flowing water, so two running fountains are excellent, and a pond with a few peaceful koi fish. If you live in a rainy state, you may want to consider the many options you have available for hand made fountains or a man made creek.
Wind will always be in your garden. Wind travels on its own accord and there isn’t too much you can use to harness it. But there are a few things you can use to appreciate it. A few options are small windmills, wind chimes, trees, or any object designed to be animated by wind.
Aside from the two most important elements of wind and water, there are nine elements for a prefect feng shui garden. For lack of space, I combine elements. These elements are wealth, fame, partnership, family, energy, children, friends, career, and knowledge. Each one is represented or amplified by its own elements and symbols.
Wealth is represented by rich purple and soft wood such as some bushes and plants. This is obviously very easy to incorporate into your garden with bushes and purple flowers.
Fame requires a bit more thought, but is represented by bright colors and unique designs. You can do this with bright flowers, or with bright and unique garden accessories and decorations.
Partnership is amplified by earth. Balancing the fame aspect, you may wish to use earthy hues such as wood chips or dark soil.
Family is promoted by the use of dark green, hard wood, and running water. So consider a sitting space that combines these three elements and the whole family can sit in. This can even be on a patio or porch that looks out to the garden, rather than actually in the garden.
Energy’s favorite color is yellow, and having a focal point in your garden using a shade of yellow and standing water serves as a perfect energy source for your garden. This does not need to be anything more than a birdbath, or it can also be a pond or even a well.
Children zones are easy to enhance. The use of wind chimes and bells are natural choices for this element. Spacing these throughout the garden helps make the whole garden a happy place for children.
Friends are promoted by seating in open air environments. White is the optimal color for friendship, and hard metal is the optimal element to use. I like to combine this with the energy zone to promote high spirits and good friendship.
Career elements are meant to encourage a happy work ethic. Use water (running or standing), and the colors black and dark blue to encourage the career zones. It can be combined with elements of the partnership zone easily.
Knowledge is one element in feng shui that should not be denied its own area. Many areas can be combined to save space, but knowledge should be represented by a semi-private area optimized for personal meditation and reflecting. Use colors such as tan, brown, and yellow to promote knowledge.
Besides a well laid garden being visually pleasing, it can also promote health and well being. Having a plan before building a garden will help you get the most out of every inch of your garden.
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