Feng Shui Goes Outdoors
It makes sense that Feng Shui, based in the laws of the natural world, would be a
perfect way of looking at the garden surrounding your home. And yet, many people are
unsure how to begin when applying Feng Shui principles to an outdoor space.
First, consider what purpose you want your garden to serve. Designed with conscious intention, your garden can be the ideal place to play, read, relax, dine, and let go of your daily stress. You can create a sanctuary for yourself, or for sharing with friends and family; your garden can be tailored to meet your own needs.
To apply Feng Shui to the garden, essentially, you just need to think of the outdoors in the same way you think of the interior of your home. Draw a plan of the garden and superimpose a bagua over it, so that you can have a clear understanding of where the different areas lie. You want to know, for example, if your "fame" gua is the place where your trash bins are kept, or if your "health" gua is where you've got a wonderful blossoming flowerbed. You could create a meditation or reading nook in your "knowledge/spirituality" gua, designing it with seating, sculptures or other objects that are personally meaningful to you, and anything that inspires you to feel calm and centered.
Once you have a plan drawn, take a look at the five elements and how they're working
in the garden.
Water: as in the interior of a home, the presence of moving water is said to draw prosperity to you. Outdoors, it's perhaps even easier to incorporate the water element. If you're lucky enough to have a natural stream running through the yard, you can highlight it by cutting foliage back from it, and by making a little beach area, even if the beach area is covered with grass. Or you can install a pool and populate it with goldfish — climate permitting — and a fountain. Note that natural, free form shapes don't have the sharp "sha chi" edges that rectangular pools have. Even if your finances don't allow for such an elaborate incorporation of water, you can always put in an inexpensive birdbath. Any type of water will also draw animals and birds, and that's good for everyone's energy.
Wood: To enhance the wood element that occurs with the trees and woody shrubs in the garden, you can add hanging wind dancers, which will activate the positive ch'i just as a crystal or mobile does inside the home. If an area of the garden is in need of the wood element, planting a small woody tree, such as a Japanese maple, will be a good idea.
Fire: The fire element can be brought into the garden with various kinds
of lighting, beginning with a simple reflective gazing ball which will reflect back the
sunlight in a fiery manner. You can also invest in a globe which absorbs the sun all day
and then reflects it at night, and of course torches planted around the pathways and floating
candles will also enhance the fire element.
Earth: you might think at first there's plenty of earth in any outdoor garden, but you can enhance the earth element in a particular spot by adding terracotta pots. Boulders, gravel paths, and decorative stones can add the stability that comes from the earth element.
Metal: To enhance the metal element in the garden, you can use metal sculptures, or standing metal fountains. You can also hang metal wind chimes, which, like the wooden wind dancers, will also activate the positive ch'i in stagnant areas.
Color is a particularly favorable way to incorporate the elements into the area. For example, you could bring in fire by using red lilies or purple lilacs, the earth element with yellow daffodils, and the wood element with a green bench.
You could also play with the names and shapes of plants, planting heart-shaped elephant vine in the love gua, for example, or putting a money plant in the success gua.
In the ancestor gua, you could plant those plants that your mother or grandmother loved, or something with a name that recalls the people or your relationship with them, such as forget-me-nots or chicks and hens.
But before you start planting, consider the overall layout of the garden, especially the pathways that lead into it and around it.
When designing the pathways, look for ways to have them curve through the garden. A straight path brings the focus of attention to the pathway's end, discouraging the visitor from enjoying the walk. This of course is representative of your "walk" though life; if you find yourself too goal-oriented, the properly designed garden, with curving pathways, can encourage you to appreciate the journey.
Take a close look too at the borders of the pathways, saving anything with spiky leaves
or branches for the areas away from the edge, as these types of plants have sharper, more
discordant energy.
This doesn't mean that all your flowers have to have the same soft look, however. Nor should they be of uniform height. A difference in heights of plants encourages the proper circulation of chi, so try to plant a variety of heights, with lower border plants, such as alyssum, edging the pathway.
Just as you would pay close attention to the threshold of your house, so too should you carefully consider the threshold to your garden. An uncluttered, clearly defined threshold will invite success; a curved entryway, such as an arbor or rose trellis will bring in fame.
However you choose to use and design your garden, just make sure you'll be able to keep up with its care, so the garden doesn't become another source of stress.
Finally, you don't need a great deal of space for your Feng Shui garden. Even a small terrace can be planted with the bagua in mind, and with attention paid to the elements.
In short, any garden can benefit from Feng Shui design principles, bringing you good energy and allowing you a special place to escape from the stresses of daily life and rejuvenate your spirit. Even a short time surrounded by the beauty and harmony of nature in your own garden can feel like a mini-vacation.
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