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Feng Shui Gardens: Bringing Harmony and Balance

Unlike typical landscape designs, Feng Shui gardening comes from the ancient Chinese discipline of Feng Shui. Feng Shui is balance between people and place using concepts of energy (chi), location and elements of nature—metal, wood, fire, earth, and water. Feng Shui gardens are an excellent way to find harmony in your own space while enjoying the hobby of gardening. Feng Shui garden design centers on an individual's element type and relationship with himself.

Energy Flow in the Garden

Feng Shui relies on chi, or energy flow. Wavy lines, movement and growth characterize energy flow. Some ways to create this energy flow in your garden space are to plant flowers, trees and shrubs that attract wildlife. Butterflies, birds, and other wildlife are living, breathing creatures that bring energy to the garden space.

Another way to bring energy into the garden is through color. Studies using colors point to significant changes in body systems. Looking at colors can cause changes in our blood pressure and heart rate. Colors like blue and green are calming while reds and oranges are stimulating. Colors can be translated into feelings. Reds create energy and excitement, while yellows offer clarity. Adding colorful flowers adds energy to the garden. In Feng Shui, too much of one color or too little of another can be damaging to energy, which leads to the second important concept of Feng Shui: balance.

Balance of Yin and Yang

In Feng Shui, balance occurs between the yin, which is the dark, soft, passive side, and the yang, the light, hard, active side. The balance occurs within us and also in our relationship to places. If an individual is lacking balance inside, the balance with nature may also be disrupted.

The Chinese use the bagua as a symbol of balance. The bagua is an octagon divided into eight areas ("guas") surrounding a center area. Each section of the bagua represents the self's relationship to one of the following: compassion, descendants, relationships, future, self-empowerment, community, wisdom and health. Each section of the bagua is also symbolic of a compass location.

The Feng Shui garden is a way to create balance and harmony in the self by strategic placement of shape, elements and colors according to the bagua.

The Five Elements

The last basic component of Feng Shui is the relationship among the five elements. The elements wood, fire, earth, metal and water have relationships with each other that can be beneficial or damaging:

Wood symbolizes ambitious thinking.
Metal stands for cleanliness and simplicity.
Earth suggests lushness and nurturing.
Fire suggests passion.
Water symbolizes expressiveness and intuition.

Pairing contradictory elements can create imbalance and decrease the flow of energy.

Designing the Feng Shui Garden

Keeping the concepts in mind, a Feng Shui garden uses waves and circles to create energy and balance. Gentle flowing curves in hardscapes, lawn edges and planting beds can create a positive energy flow to the garden. Straight lines and hard edges diminish energy and balance. Flowers in high-energy colors like reds, oranges and purples can and should be part of the Feng Shui garden. Keeping balance in mind, add blues, yellows and greens to create harmony. And, finally, to keep the energy moving in the right direction, complement elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

To design a Feng Shui garden, determine the middle of your gardening space. Using a compass, identify each of the eight locations: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west and northwest. These locations will correspond with the bagua. Feng Shui suggests that by using certain design elements in the corresponding areas you can achieve greater harmony with your surroundings and encourage the flow of good chi into your garden.

Location	Color	Element	Description
North	Dark tones	Water	This area of the garden is symbolic for growth and creativity including the arts, careers and other job prospects. This is a good location for water elements such as functioning ponds, fountains, or hot tubs. Curves and waves of landscape elements improve the path of chi. Stones, clays and earth, which are more symbolic of stillness, should be avoided in the area of inspiration.
Northeast	White	Earth	The northeast section in the garden is symbolic for self-realization, wisdom and introspection. This is a better area for designs using stone. Statues, stone edging, rock gardens and stone benches are contemplative structures that encourage quiet meditation. These elements fall under the earth element and suggest tranquility. Animals and plants should be placed elsewhere to prevent the disruption of this calm.
East	Blues	Wood	The eastern section is full of new life, health and rebirth. Plant this area with fruit trees, herbs, vegetables and anything that has to do with exercise and play. Circular shapes like columns and cylinders perpetuate the idea of rejuvenation. Wood elements in the eastern garden are important for creating harmony and positive chi.
Southeast	Blues	Wood	Continue the wood element in the southeast section, an area of wealth, possessions and communication. This is a great place to showcase special plants, flowers and fish as recognition of self-accomplishment. Keep patio furniture and garden tools away from this area of the garden.
South	Reds	Fire	The south section of the garden burns with your dreams, desires, happiness, and achievements. Fire elements like barbeques and fire pits promote the ideas of festivity and long life. Incorporate triangular shapes with statues, plants, or chimes that represent heat and action in life.
Southwest	Reds	Earth	The earth element is reintroduced in the southwest section of the garden. Symbolic of rebirth, marriage, falling in love, and mothering, the southwest section makes a good place for a two-person stone bench or intimate dining area. A patio of stone or terra cotta is well-placed in the southwest garden. This area should encourage loving relationships and communication.
West	White	Metal	The west side of your garden design is the ideal place for entertaining and playing. Dining tables and children's play equipment stimulate chi in this section of the garden. Round, metal elements signify control, education, and understanding. Metal is also associated with endings—of life, situations, or even a perfect day.
Northwest	White	Metal	Carry metal to the northwest section of the garden to represent travel, outside interests and mentors. Use this place in your garden for special design elements like statues of angels and animals or items like wind chimes that produce sounds.

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