Hello World! Welcome Friends! Your backyard and garden are not just a patch of grass and a bunch of plants. They should feel like your own private escape, an oasis where you can unwind and spend your day.
A beautifully designed and relaxing backyard and garden may seem like a major project. And while you’ll have to put in some work, creating a design you’ll love to spend time in is not difficult.
Use these tips, and you can create garden feng shui right in your backyard.
What Is Feng Shui?
Feng shui is a traditional Chinese practice that uses energy to bring individuals into harmony with nature and their environment. This art was developed in China over 3,000 years ago and is still widely practiced today.
The goal of feng shui is to bring good fortune, positive energy, and life improvements to the individual. Many people apply these principles to their home and work environments to reap the benefits.
While feng shui relates to an individual’s environment as a whole, it’s often utilized in interior design. Many homeowners and designers use this as a guide of where to place furniture and decorations and what colors to use in a space.
But feng shui is not bound to the walls inside a home. You can also apply the principles to nature and your outdoor space, making it a popular principle of garden design.
Feng Shui Basic Principles
Feng shui is an old practice that has multiple schools of thought. Since many people don’t study feng shui in-depth, here are some of the basic principles suggested by feng shui masters in Singapore that you should follow when using feng shui.
Five Elements
The five elements come from Taoist philosophy and how each of these elements of nature work together to create harmony. Each of the five elements has associated qualities, colors, and shapes that you can utilize in your design.
Earth
Representing self-care, nourishment, and boundaries, the element of earth is grounded and stable. This element is represented with flat and square shapes and earthy colors. Think browns, yellows, and oranges.
Metal
Bring joy, precision, and beauty into your design with the element of metal. This element embodying efficiency is often represented in circular and spherical shapes. Shades of white and metallics bring metal into a design.
Water
A powerful element in nature, the element of water symbolizes wisdom and connection. Incorporate wavy, curvy, and flowing shapes to add this element into space. Blacks and dark blues represent this element.
Wood
Allow your space to foster growth, vitality, and healing with the element of wood. Use rectangular and columnar shapes in your design to represent wood. Greens, teals, and blues are the colors to use as well as green houseplants.
Fire
If you need more passion and inspiration in your home, add the element of fire. Triangular and pointy shapes symbolize this element as well as light, so pay attention to the lighting in the space. Use reds and oranges in your design.
Flow with Water
As stated, water is one of the basic elements of feng shui, so it’s an essential element to have in a well-designed feng shui garden. If there’s one element you should definitely have in your backyard, it’s water.
Incorporate this element with a bubbling fountain, pond, or swimming pool. If you have a fountain, make it square or round. A pond should have clear water, avoid letting it get muddy to aid the flow of qi or chi.
Breeding small fish in the pond can aid in fortune and wisdom, according to feng shui practices.
Fence It In
The purpose of a fence in a feng shui garden is to gather the qi. An open garden can attract negative energy, while a guarded garden can create prosperity and luck.
The higher the fence, the better it can block the negative energy. However, you don’t want the fence to be higher than the home’s front door. This can block airflow, creating stagnation and reduce the good energy in the home.
Shape and Path and Color
Shapes are important in feng shui since they relate to the five elements. To promote good energy, you want your garden shape to be square, relating to the earth element.
Triangle and trapezoidal gardens can host bad and ominous energy that can lead to reduced luck, loss of wealth, and bad fortune.
A path in a garden is similar to the flow of water. It’s important to note the direction your paths point in. Avoid creating a bath that directly faces the home.
However, if you must have a path that leads towards the home, plant trees to balance and bring good energy.
Use the colors associated with the five elements to bring vibrancy and balance to your outdoor space. Take the time to view these outdoor furniture options and incorporate feng shui color and placement in your backyard.
Add Beauty with Statues
Statues are a common piece of garden decor. However, with feng shui, you must be careful with the sculptures and imagery you use. These pieces of decor relate to the five elements and have meanings of their own.
It’s a good idea to research how the imagery represents feng shui and find a place in the garden that creates a balance in the elements and energy.
For example, placing a fire element statute near the water will restrict and extinguish the fire. These potential side effects can affect the inhabitants of the home.
Greenery Is Everything
Relating to the wood element, plants are an important part of garden feng shui. They can encourage the growth of household members and the overall vitality of life. But, like all details of feng shui, placement is key.
Keep the planting location in mind, as well as the size of the plant and what kind of plants you choose. Thorny trees can bring bad energy, as can withered and hollow trees.
Take caution with vining plants and plant them far from the home. You should also keep the shape of the leaves and the height of the trees in mind. Large leaves and hearty trees bring good energy through feng shui.
Create an Oasis with Garden Feng Shui
After a long and exhausting day, what’s better than laying back and relaxing in your tranquil backyard garden. Surround yourself with beauty and allow the good energy to flow, and you’ll feel calmer in no time.
You can create this kind of oasis with garden feng shui. Apply the traditional Chinese principles of balancing energy, and your environment will have the harmony necessary to live your most peaceful life.
Do you love this home and garden advice? Share this article with a friend and check out more home and lifestyle articles on the blog.
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
8 Things to Consider Before Building a Home Theater
Choose Interior Paint Colors to Influence your Mood
Tips for Renovating Your Home On a Budget
How to Pay For Home Renovations In Retirement
Why Wood Floors in the Kitchen is on Trend
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Toodles,
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