Friday, January 25, 2013

Plants as Feng Shui Chi Enhancers

Plants are among the many Chi enhancers that you can use to correct architectural problems and enhance your energy flow. To do this it is important that they be healthy and vibrant. They also clean the air around us, making their use invaluable.

Make sure you choose “friendly” plants, such as those with wide, rounded leaves or those having a soft, graceful appearance. Among many others are: schefflera, philodendron, pothos, jade, croton, Chinese evergreen, peace lily, ficus, ivy, and most dracaenas, ferns and palms. Blooming plants are also an excellent alternative to fresh flowers. These include begonias, gloxinias, chrysanthemum, violets, Gerbera daisies and cyclamen.

Avoid “unfriendly” plants with a sharp or spiky appearance, or place them in a location away from people.

Plants have a myriad of uses: They soften the hard angles and sharp corners found in furnishing and architecture,  like this artificial pothos hiding and softening the sharp corners of this armoire.

They also fill in unusable spaces. This large ficus is in the shape of a heart in the relationship corner of a bedroom.

 
 Plants can be made a part of a 5 element display bringing in the wood element or other elements depending on the color of their flowers. This beautiful orchid works to embrace the couple in the picture with its “pair” of stems, and evokes the earth and fire elements in the red and yellow colors, as well as wood from the plant itself  and metal in the vase.

 
Consider using silk plants in dark, high or untended areas, but ensure that they are kept clean and look vibrantly alive.  Place your plants in beautiful containers, making their “homes” pleasing to the eye. When a plant becomes diseased, infested or unsightly, it’s best to “give it back to God” and replace it.