The garden is a great place to spend time, especially in good weather and with traditional Feng Shui, you can also improve your luck and health, so that your garden is more than somewhere pretty to spend time.
For many, Feng Shui is considered to be about furniture placement, relationship positions and wind chimes. However it isn’t restricted to just the inside of buildings. Its roots are far deeper and it’s a powerful way to identify the energy around us. In fact at least 70% of the effect of Feng Shui is about outside buildings, so getting the energy right outside your home or workplace can have a fundamental impact on many aspects of your life.
Your Garden Shape
The shape of your garden will affect your fortunes. This is because geographical directions relate to specific family members.
If, for example, your garden shape has the south part missing, the “lead” male of the house is unlikely to get the recognition for his work, may not want to spend time in the house and might have problems relating to his head. If the north is missing then the “lead” female may be out of the house a lot or have stomach issues. (Each position relates to specific body parts in Chinese philosophy.)
Positioning and types of Plants
Spiky plants can cause aggression due to their shape and position too. Having lots of these in a certain position can make people uncomfortable.
Here’s a classic example of the impact of the garden on my family life:
I was busy dealing with other people’s Feng Shui and had forgotten to keep up to date with my own house (a case of cobblers’ children if ever there was one!) and it was only when one of my children’s behaviour had become more challenging that I took a closer look.
I found that a holly tree growing close to the house had started to press against the corner of the building in the position relating to the first son. My poor boy was really feeling pressured by all the new things going on in his life and was reacting angrily. (The anger was caused by the prickly aspect of the holly).
The tree was removed and over the next couple of days I started to notice how my grumpy boy had started to calm down again.
Traditional Feng Shui is about the energy around us and how we use it so you don’t have to believe in it for to affect you. My son didn’t know anything about the tree.
The key point is that what surrounds us has a greater effect than the purely aesthetic. Land forms and architectural shapes will impact our lives regardless of whether this is our intention or not. Even if they are not in our space.
Where to look
The table below shows the directions relating to family members. Once you have ascertained which directions hare the most important to your family, look at these positions in your garden. You should then ensure that you keep these areas attractive and uncluttered and use the other positions for compost heaps etc as they will have less effect on you.
Feng Shui Garden Positions
|
Father |
Mother |
1st Girl | 2nd Girl | 3rd Girl | 1st Son | 2nd Son | 3rd Son |
| South | North | Southwest | East | Southeast | Northeast | West | Northwest |
Water Features
Moving water in Feng Shui, water has a powerful impact on finances. (It’s the “Shui” part of the concept.) However it does need to be moving water. Stagnant water reflects poorly on financial health. Also, you need to be careful where you put it, how the water flows and how it sounds. If you have a pond in the wrong place or water flowing away from your house then you are wasting your money!
The best position for a water feature is in the north or the southeast. You should have moving water and it should flow towards the house.
Key points:
Here are some more simple ways to improve your Feng Shui garden:
- Have attractive flowers or shrubs in the north of your garden as this area relates to the “lead” female or mother of the house. Avoid having children’s play equipment here as they may not listen to their mother!
- The south (relating to the father) should have stronger planting such as evergreen shrubs or conifers. Wispy planting can be too insubstantial to support the strong energy.
- Large trees or shrubs can block the energy of a person. If you are single and the position relating to your partner is blocked there may be no room for him or her to appear or to feel comfortable in your home.
- Front gardens represent your future so simple attractive designs are more suitable.
- Do not plant tall trees close to the house as they take too much energy about from the building.
There’s another blog about the energy outside your property here .
Happy gardening!