Did you know that the outside of your home is as important as the inside in helping you create positive Feng Shui energy? In this hectic world, I have learned the importance of having a space that is calm and healing – your garden can be just that space. The recent rains, with following sunshine, have blessed my garden with lush leaves and a multitude of beautiful flowers, an intoxicating fragrance and an explosion of color. It’s important to have an outlet where the brain can breathe, and your garden can be this natural outlet.
When my mother passed away years ago, a friend gave me a beautiful statue of a cherub. I placed it in the front of my house in my Knowledge and Self Cultivation area and keep it surrounded with flowers. Right now, a multitude of red tulips bless the space, and help escort nourishing Ch’i to my front door. Being at my entrance they help nourish me with beauty, and positive memories each time I return home.
There are so many things you can do to enhance your home’s outer space, whether you have a garden, a patio or beautiful pots and vases at home you can use the power of plants, flowers, fountains, and garden art to enhance your life. Some suggestions are:
Sow flower seeds to attract bees and beautiful birds, plant a vegetable garden, pull weeds, clean, organize and refresh your yard, or patio. If you have children, you can teach them gardening skills and love for nature. Cut your own beautiful fresh flowers and arrange them in stunning floral art, then take pictures of your beautiful arrangements, or just enjoy your garden by strolling through it, taking a nap, meditating or sitting on a favorite bench. Inhale the fragrance and breathe the stress away.
Feng Shui, which has been practiced for over 3,000 years in China, is the enhancement of health, prosperity, and happiness through a connection with your environment. Your vitality, resources, and loving connections flourish and grow best in harmonious environments. Flowers, with their various shapes and colors, represent all of the five Feng Shui Elements. When in balance, these five elements help to calm and energize you at the same time.
If your home is considered the "heart" of your property, the garden is considered the "aura". Your garden is your personal passport into nature. Whether you plant a flower or vegetable garden, the beauty in your outdoor environment attracts vibrant Ch’i into your home.
Basic Feng Shui principles can help you nurture and strengthen your energy and yourself in all aspects of your life. You can surround yourself with flowers in your home or use some of these suggestions for creating a Bagua in your garden.
Gardens and the Bagua:
The Feng Shui Bagua (Ba-gua) Map, is represented as a grid of nine sectors. The Bagua comes from the Chinese philosophy, “The I Ching,” and literally means “eight trigrams”, with the center for grounding and centering. Each sector of the Bagua is represented by one of the elements, which can be associated by the shapes and colors of plants and garden art.
Apply the Bagua map on your landscape footprint, using the driveway as the entrance. This may not be in the same direction as your front door. Depending on where your driveway is you will be entering your property from Knowledge, Career or Helpful People. Enhancing the entrance to your home and garden with healthy plants, water features, greeters and curving walkways is one of the most important things you can do to invite energizing Ch’i to your life. Gardens should take on the qualities of the Bagua area they reside in. Here are some examples of using the Bagua to enhance your garden:
Enhancements in Career Area
- Soft colorful plants, reds are particularly auspicious, water features such as 360-degree bubbling fountains or with water flowing toward the house, pots in shiny dark colors, wind chimes, and curved paths or asymmetrical lines
Enhancements in Knowledge and Self Cultivation Area
- Colors of blues, greens, wooden benches, symbols of mountains or large rocks, statues representing spiritual guides, healthy plants with rounded soft leaves, gazing balls, and items that create a quiet meditative feeling
Enhancements in Health/Family/Friends Area
- An abundance of healthy flowers in any color with upright growth (blooming flowers represent perfect health), sitting areas for entertainment, symbols of family, vegetable gardens, herbs, orchard
Enhancements in Wealth Area
- Plants in the purple color spectrum, fountains or waterfalls flowing toward the home, flags or whirligigs
Enhancements in Fame Area
- Plants in colors red, up lighting or twinkle lights, BBQs, fire pits, garden art representing suns, stars, triangles and sculptures of people or animals
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Enhancements in Love and Marriage Area
- Pairs of items depicting romance, including bistro tables with two chairs, two lounge chairs, loveseat or sculptures in pairs (avoid single or lonely items), plants in colors of reds, pinks and white
Enhancements in Children and Creativity Area
- Items in metal and plants in colors of white and pastels, whimsical garden art, children’s playground or personal garden, workbench, garden bench, fairies, butterflies, nature spirit
Enhancements in Helpful People and Travel Area
- Garden art representing spiritual guides, or desired travel locations (We have a colorful pole with signs pointing to all the places we’ve traveled), birds, sundials
- Items in metal and white plants
Enhancements in Center Area
- Houses usually occupy the center of the landscape Bagua, but if they don't this is an auspicious area for ceramics, plants in the color yellow, earth tones, rectangle shapes, patios, bricks/pavers, table and chairs
Because the home and garden are so connected, Feng Shui practitioners usually recommend enhancements for both.
1) Make the entry beautiful and clutter free
2) Place water features in the Career and Wealth areas
3) Remove dead plants quickly
4) Balance the Yin/Yang of your garden with opposites (short/tall plants, hot/soft colors, etc.)
5) Keep all systems working (i.e. watering, lighting – nothing should be broken)
Remember that the outside of your home also reflects your personal energy. Enhance it to help you relieve stress and help you create a peaceful welcoming space.
