Apply Feng Shui To Your Outdoor Living Areas
FENG SHUI GARDENS
A garden is a place that should be inviting and pleasurable. How you arrange all the things in your garden is key to creating an oasis, and not a jungle. Feng Shui is the classic Chinese art of arranging furniture and possessions to help you find ways to live more harmoniously in your environment. To the Chinese, Chi, the natural life-force, can be out of balance if spaces are not inviting and tranquil. Adherents believe that how you set up your home, workspace and garden will influence every aspect of your life: your emotional and physical well-being, your career, even your love life. Whether or not you believe that, if you apply the principles of Feng Shui to your yard and garden, you will transform the area around your house into an oasis for you and your family. Those principles are the basics of smart and natural garden design that will make every garden more attractive and pleasing to be in.
I see Feng Shui landscape designing, as another way of bringing balance for your personal enhancement. Working with the earth brings the qualities of earth to you. The basic element of earth is healing, regenerative,and without any effort at all, you recieve these benefits. It is a way of bringing forth a balance of the yin and yang, light and darkness are balanced by using different elements: water, earth,fire (example: pointy leaves of plants represent this element) rocks, wood element (trees), metals (flower pots, wind chimes or a metal bench to sit and reflect the days events. When you take these elements and use the bagua-the map of Feng Shui, you are able to draw beneficial energy to you and your home.
A way to apply the Feng Shui philosophy to your garden is starting at the entrance. An arbor, for example, makes clear to people where to come in and makes the garden inviting." Ideally," the entrance faces south -- the direction, by the way, where your garden will get maximum sun exposure. A closed gate would be less inviting for people and energy, and it might shade some of your plants. Though there are no particular Feng Shui plants, Colors have a strong impact on energy flow, just as they have been shown to influence our moods. Hot colors, like red and yellow flowers, lift up your energy level when you're looking at them. The cooler-colored purple and white flowers are more soothing.
Remember, Feng Shui emphasizes diversity. The five elements you want to have represented in your garden are wood, metal, earth, fire and water. Water, be it a fountain or pond or bird bath, is very soothing. By the way, attracting the birds is the best, most natural form of bug control, because they eat pest insects.
The compass directions have corresponding colors to help create your balanced landscaping. When you involve the elements and colors of the bagua map, it creates the a good energy-chi and it is carried into your home to help empower you and your family. The balance of inside/outside Feng Shui will give you the extra boost it takes to live your life in harmony and balance. You will also realize that once you create this harmony, more birds, butterflies, praying mantis will arrive on the scene to share and add to this energized area. You will also find this area to be one that attracts the human race to your area.
If you don't have enough space for a birdbath, there are other ways to incorporate water into a garden. A simple electric fountain would do. Just add water and the electric pump would recycle it.
DESIGNING YOUR FENG SHUI GARDENLandscape design is not just a matter of putting up a building, planting trees and flowers, or building an artificial mountain. It is a means of revealing one's attitude of life by displaying landscape esthetically. Landscape needs to be restrained, gentle, and understated. We should modestly hide, not boldly dominate as is fashionable in the West. This enables a more intimate experience and sense of fitting into the environment.
The Chinese way of thinking follows a clear path:- Respect experiences.
- Discern the truth by studying the past.
- Stand between science and theology.
- Combine ethics with esthetics.
- In Chinese history no special ideal or religion controls spiritual life — real life comes before anything else. Chinese respect nature and self-knowing, and people adapt into a natural world more easily.
A Chinese will search for compromise while a Westerner wants a Yes or No answer. This constitutes fundamentally different approaches to landscape design.
In Western thought we oscillate between total belief in a Creator (ignoring real life) or a full belief in human power to explore and dominate the world (which in many respects also ignores real life). Westerners measure their world in human dimensions, with the formal garden recognized as a symbol of human power and achievement. Humans in Western thought are conquerors and improvers of nature, so people want a walled-in and controlled copy of Paradise (perfection beyond real life).
By enabling and worshipping human power, we lose our fear of wildness. We conquer nature, sanitize and "improve" it. And these ideas are intrinsically Western, coming as they do from Plato and Christian theology.
There is an attitude of profit regarding land in the West. The practical and utilitarian trend is Western, which historically was restricted in the East. In the East the attitude encompasses humility and respect for the forces of nature and heaven.
It is very rare in Chinese design history to place geometrical forms on hilly land, as is common in Western countries. Only in the Chinese Emperor's gardens were geometric forms acceptable, because for Chinese they are symbols of respect for natural forces (heaven and earth).
You will find nothing about improvement of the land, no modification of perceived imperfections or a need to control or dominate the landscape. Even the Son of Heaven would not assume he had the authority to do such a thing.
The four landscape elements are:- Mountain
- Water
- Plant
- Building
- Stillness and movement
- Unity and variety
- Locality and generality
- Scenery and subjective reactions
Feng shui patios and gardens are closer in spirit to rock, English or low-maintenance gardens than to formal, artificial and overdesigned European gardens, which are characterized by unnatural features such as severe corners, angles and straight lines.
Whether you live in a condo or a mansion, whether you are positioning a potted plant on your patio or having many acres professionally landscaped, putting everything in its right place according to feng shui principles will help create a healing, harmonious and natural environment.
In designing your outdoor space, be mindful of the three basic concepts of feng shui:- Energy flow (wavy or curvy is beneficial; straight lines are negative)
- Balance of yin (dark, soft, passive) and yang (light, hard, active)
- Generative and destructive relationships of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
1. Stand in the center of your outdoor space.
2. Use a compass to determine the eight directions.
North - Creativity, Personal growth, New ideas, Inspiration, Prospects, Career, Music, Art
- Use: Water elements
- Good place for: Metal toolsheds, ponds, Jacuzzis
- Shapes: Waves & curves
- Avoid: Stone, clay, earth.
Northeast - Knowledge, Wisdom, Meditation/reading, Inner journeys, Spiritual and intellectual growth, Nature
- Use: Earth element
- Good place for: Stone benches, rock gardens, repairing equipment, stones and boulders, statutaries, brick, flagstone, anything made from the earth
- Shapes: Low and flat surfaces
- Avoid: Plants and trees.
East - New life and growth, Rebirth and rejuvenation, Harmony, Health, Family life, Nutrition, Healing
- Use: Wood element
- Good place for: Fruit trees, herbs, medicinal plants, play equipment, sauna, tai chi and other exercises, trees, plants
- Shapes: Columns, cylinders
- Avoid: Metal garden accessories, patio furniture, tools, white flowers
Southeast - Wealth, Abundance, Material possessions, Communication
- Use: Wood element
- Good place for: Cultivation and display of show plants, flowers or fish
- Shapes: Cylinders, posts and columns
- Avoid: Metal garden accessories, patio furniture and tools, white flowers.
South - Opportunity, Dreams, Aspirations, Awards, Fame, Achievement, Happiness, Longevity, Festivity
- Use: Fire element
- Good place for: Barbecues, fire pits, burning leaves, trees, flowers
- Shapes: Pointed and triangular shapes
- Avoid: Water elements such as ponds, waterfalls, and fountains.
Southwest - Marriage, Romance, Motherhood, Love, Relationships, Partners
- Use: Earth element
- Good place for: Seating/dining for two, team sports
- Shapes: Low, flat surfaces
- Avoid: Wood patio or deck furniture, gazebos, fences and gates, the color green.
West - Children, Creativity, Harvest, Socializing and entertaining
- Use: Metal element
- Good place for: Outdoor entertaining, bar, children's playground/garden, convalescing and healing, sunbathing
- Shapes: Circles and arches
- Avoid: Barbecues, fire pit, pyramid, red flowers.
Northwest - Trade, Interests outside of home, International travel, Fatherhood, Mentors and benefactors, Helpful people, Supporters
- Use: Metal element
- Good place for: Statues of deities, angels, cherubs, animals, wind chimes, sounds
- Shapes: Circles and arches
- Avoid: Barbecues, fire pit, pyramid, red flowers.
Read about Feng Shui Landscaping
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Feng Shui Landscaping
Feng Shui is the study of the "built" environment and while feng shui does look at the larger environment surrounding the structure, there are no hard and fast rules about the landscaping. Feng Shui is primarily focused on the Chi' within a structure, as that is what has the most direct effect on the people. When it comes to the outside environment, the main points of concern is that the landscaping is beautiful and in balance with the rest of the environment. Living in a beautiful environment is much more supportive than living in an environment that is an eyesore. You can tell the Chi' of a neighborhood or area by how green and glossy the trees and plants are.Some general rules:
Pathways should flow like a meandering stream not a straight road. As to trees, they are fine as long as they are not placed in a direct line with any entrances, especially the main entrance. Try to keep a balance of yin and yang (dark and light) when thinking of the trees. Avoid trees that will completely block the light. Too much of anything is not good. Again, balance is the key.
Shrubbery is okay as long as it is kept neat and prevented from overgrowing. Trees and shrubbery can be used to block harsh Chi' such as strong winds. Grass does not pose any problems. Strive for beauty.
Flowers and other colorful plants can be used as long as they fit within the environment and follow the rules of the 5 elements .
"Wood produces fire, fire produces earth, earth produces metal, metal produces water, water produces wood." Wood is green, fire is red, earth is tans or yellows, metal is white or gold, water is blue or black. Avoid using them in a destructive combination such that "wood uproots earth, earth blocks water, water douses fire, fire melts metal, and metal chops wood".
Consider the direction the building "sits." For example if the building faces to the North and sits to the South, than this is a Li building (Li is the Fire trigram). This house would be supported by a lot of red flowers, but would not benefit from blue or black colors. A house that sits to the west and faces east (Tui is a metal trigram) would benefit from white and gold flowers. Reds and purples should be avoided. This can also apply to the color of the house trim as well. These are all general rules and while... Continued below....
Feng Shui Landscaping continued...
...their effect can be minimal on the house itself, following the rules of balance can support the house and its occupants.The two items that need to be looked at carefully are rocks and water. Since they are both part of the five elements and are used to remedy certain situations in the greater environment, they need to be placed very carefully.
Water in the west is not good, while in the southwest and east it can assist prosperity, during this time period. These directions should not be in front of, or behind the house or building. If they are, it takes a qualified practitioner to determine if the water will have a positive or negative effect. If you are striving for the effect of the water element, then it is better to not use an earthen container such as a fountain made of rocks since earth blocks water in the cycle of the elements. Metallic containers work well as metal strengthens water. Many people use metal troughs effectively with beautiful plants and flowers planted around it to blend it with the environment. Ponds and pools can be used if placed under the guidance of a trained Feng Shui practitioner.
The same can be said of rocks, especially large decorative rocks. Because these are used in certain situations to correct for a problem, they need to be placed under the guidance of a Feng Shui practitioner. Placed haphazardly, they could have an adverse effect on the prosperity of the building if used in front of or in back of the structure. This takes a qualified Feng Shui practitioner to determine if the placement of these elements is needed or not. Feng Shui folklore states that a building should have a mountain behind it to support it. By using rocks and earth, you can create this mountain. While this sounds good, this is not true in every case. Each building is unique and needs to be looked at on a case by case basis.
To summarize, plants and other "wood" elements are fine anywhere as long as they do not block the Chi' of the building and are used in balance. Colors can be used to assist the home as long as they fall within the rules of the five elements. Water and Rocks need to be placed under the advice of a trained practitioner to avoid adversely effecting the people or the prosperity. When placed correctly, they can have a very supportive effect on the building or house. All in all, the goal of Feng Shui is to create a comfortable and beautiful environment for the people. Strive for this when landscaping.
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Fetching RSS feed... please stand byNew Developments In Pond Filtration
(Excerpts from an article by B.W. Channing, Japanese Water Gardens)
The Need for Biological Filtration If we had a horse ranch on 100 acres, while walking on the grounds you would have to watch where you step because you might step into something soft left by a horse. If, however, you placed 100 horses in your backyard, you couldn't step anywhere safely. This condition will also create a serious health problem for the horses and anyone else nearby. In order to alleviate this condition we would need to have a strict policy with regard to cleaning and feeding of the animals.With regard to Koi keeping the problem is more critical since we as the pond and koi keepers also control the whole environment. Fish essentially breath the very water they swim in, consequently not only do we need a system that takes care of the waste, but we need to convert the harmful chemicals dissolved in the water into relatively harmless ones.
The Method - Biological Filtration: The Nitrite Cycle Biological filters operate on the principal of the Nitrite Cycle and work by the action of good bacteria on the chemicals and harmful bacteria produced by Koi in the natural process of feeding and excreting. These good bacteria are called aerobic bacteria, meaning that they only exist in an oxygen rich environment. There are two different strains of bacteria that consume the harmful chemicals produced by Koi waste and the decay of plants and uneaten food. Once we begin feeding the fish a build up of ammonia will occur as a result of the natural excretion process. We all know ammonia is deadly to fish. As a result of the ammonia build up the pond will become colonized by nitrosomonas bacteria, assuming there is sufficient surface area this bacteria will begin to convert the ammonia into nitrite. While nitrites are not as deadly as ammonia they can also kill in sufficient amounts. Nature is truly marvelous, because at this point, a second bacteria develops called nitrobacter. This bacteria has the ability to consume the nitrite and convert it into nitrates which are relatively harmless and are utilized by plant life. This process is called the "nitrite cycle".
Problems: To a new Koi keeper, the word filter will often give the wrong impression. They believe the purpose of the filter is to remove the dirt and solid matter from ponds. Actually the purpose, as stated before, is to convert harmful chemicals into harmless chemicals. The solid matter is the greatest problem when it comes to effective filtration. ...continued...
New Developments in Pond Filtration ...continued...
If you fill any container with any variety of media, such as sand, stone, plastic, hair rollers, matting, sintered glass, etc. in effect almost any inert product, and then flow water containing a high level of dissolved oxygen over it, bacteria will colonise the surface area of the material. The problem is that unless we take steps to seperate the solid matter from the aerated water, the filter chamber will quickly become blocked or begin to accumulate a large volume of decaying material. This will then require cleaning. As we all know the pure action of cleaning the media will effectively destroy a portion of the bacteria that has cultured or colonized. Now consider that it takes 12 to 16 weeks to pass through the nitrite cycle and up to two years to reach maximum efficiency, it is easy to understand that any disturbance to the biological chambers of a filter is completely counter productive.Solution: The ideal situation would be if we could create a biological filter that never needs to be disturbed, thereby creating a stable effective means of treating the water. You may ask, is this is possible? It is now! In most larger and newly constructed koi ponds the filter should be fed directly form the bottom drain. The reason for this is that the worst water and the greatest amount of solids are in the bottom of the pond. The water then flows to a chamber designed in such a way as to rotate the water forcing the heavier solids to fall the the bottom of the chamber, thereby making it easy to discharge the waste from the bottom drain. Thereafter, the water moves to a second chamber that will mechanically remove the bulk of the remaining solids then the third chamber will remove the balance, then the water entering the biological chamber is clean and will rum indefinitely with little or no maintenance. This is referred to as "Protective Chamber Filtration". There are many different types of biological filtration, but by developing a simple and efficient design we can reduce the maintenance and increase the efficiency of what is basically the life blood of our pond.
Protective Chamber Filtration: This basically mains protecting the biological chambers from contamination by suspended solids. If we can prevent solid matter from entering the biological chambers we then create a situation where those chambers never require any maintenance, thus ensuring that the bed of bacteria remains at the maximum levels at all times. ...continued...
New Developments in Pond Filtration...continued...
It is only practical to protect the biological chamber if we down-flow the water through the biological media. In these modern Four Chamber Systems the whole purpose of the first three chambers is to remove the maximum amounts of solids and to oxygenate the water by forcing it to fall and rise in each chamber before it reaches the biological media within the last chamber.Chamber Number One: Solids falling to the bottom as a result of rotating water.
Chamber Number Two: Further solids trapped by the packed chamber of brushes.
Chamber Number Three: Finer solids trapped by the large blocks of reticulated foam or Japanese Mat Material.
Final Chamber: The media is protected and completely covered by three sheets of reticulated foam.
Conclusion: Protective Chamber Filtration has been used successfully for many years. While regular discharging of the vortex chamber is necessary, the second chamber of brushes only requires cleaning approximately twice a year and the same is true of the third chamber. Also, the reticulated foam in the last chamber may require cleaning twice a year, however the biological portion, (the aqua rock) will remain clean and without build up of solids for years.
The Protective Chamber principal of filtration is simply efficient - efficiently simple.
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