What makes a California garden designer, whose education and
experience is firmly rooted in Western design principles, think she can write a
book about Feng Shui?
The short answer is, she can’t.
Like many of you, however, I consider myself a life-long
learner. And when the subject at hand relates to garden design, so much the
better. I’ve been dabbling in one specific aspect of Feng Shui for several
years now, and recently published an eBook on the subject. What sets Everyday Feng Shui A Plant Lover's Guide to Garden Design (On Your Own Design)
apart from other books on garden Feng Shui is that rather than a complex
system of space planning, the focus is on the plants themselves.
The Creative Cycle
I’ve
concentrated on one of the core tenents of Feng Shui—the Creative Cycle. At the
heart of the Creative Cycle is the belief that all things have their origin in
one of the five elemental groups: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water or Wood. Just as
Western garden principles strive to create balance in the garden, Feng Shui
similarly focuses on harmony, teaching that for a garden to be truly welcoming,
all five elements should be present. Now here is the fun part: each of the
elements can be represented by specific plant characteristics! A perfect design
tool for gardeners, as we already see plants as the heart and soul of the
garden.
Here
is a brief description of each of the five elements:
Fire
– Symbolic of energy and aggression. Represented by the color red and
triangular or jagged, sharp shapes.
Earth
– Symbolic of harmony and balance. Represented by the colors brown and yellow
and square, flat-topped shapes.
Metal
– Symbolic of creativity and collecting. Represented by the colors white,
silver and gray and by circular or domed shapes.
Water
– Symbolic of meditation and reflection. Represented by the colors blue and
black and by wavy, meandering shapes.
Wood
– Symbolic of growth and trust. Represented by the color green and by
rectangular shapes.
What makes this approach to garden design so appealing, is
that rather than replacing traditional Western design principles, it enhances
them. As an example, take the following photo:
From a Feng Shui perspective, this front yard is suffering
from an excess of Earth (represented by the square shapes of the lawn, driveway
and severely-pruned bushes) and Wood (via the color green). Peaceful to the
point of boring. Zzzzzz. The key to bringing it back into balance is through
the introduction of the other elements on the Creative Cycle. If this were my
client, I would begin by removing the unnaturally-shaped shrubs, downsizing the
lawn and adding curved planting beds. Budget allowing, I might even add a
curved path from the street to the front door. These changes would bring in
Water’s meditative influence. Next comes filling the beds with plants in a mix
of colors and textures, making sure to include plants with variegated foliage to
bring in a touch of Metal’s elegance as well as some sharply-textured New Zealand
flax or aloes to channel Fire’s bright energy.
While similar
conclusions can be reached without recourse to the Creative Cycle, of course, determining
what is wrong with an existing garden is often more challenging than creating a
new one from scratch. Why not add another diagnostic tool to your gardening
toolkit? Not to mention it’s just plain fun to rethink an outdoor space through
the lens of the Creative Cycle.
If you are looking for easy-to-implement ways to make your
garden a more enjoyable space that is alive with positive energy, then Everyday Feng Shui provides a roadmap to achieving a new level of harmony in
your garden. No need to redesign the garden’s entire layout or rip out and
replace planting beds wholesale (unless you enjoy that sort of thing, of
course). With a few additions or subtractions, almost any garden space can
become more balanced, welcoming and harmonious.
To learn more, go to Amazon and download a sample of the
book. Or better yet, leave a comment here or on my Facebook page. I’ll be
giving away 3 copies, winners to be announced next Thursday, December 13th. As
an FYI for those of you with gardeners on your Christmas list, if you’ve never
given a Kindle book as a gift before, it’s incredibly easy. All you have to do
is enter the recipient’s email address and voila! It’s done. Should you prefer to
bestow your gift in person, simply have the gift certificate emailed to
yourself.
In the unlikely event that you're not interested in this giveaway, check back next week anyway. I'll be giving away a copy of the just released Why Grow That When You Can Grow This?: 255 Extraordinary Alternatives to Everyday Problem Plants
.
Update 12-13-12: The winners are in!
Chosen by a random number generator, congrats to commenters #8 Loree/Danger Garden, #13 Sheila Schultz and #15 Judy Tilson. Keep an eye on your email for a message from Amazon!
