Feng Shui in the Garden ~ Good Feng Shui makes good sense
Feng Shui in the Garden is about creating an outdoor space that you love to live in. For the most part, it’s about good design. A good landscape or garden design will have good energy and good flow. You know when a space feels right to you, or not. It’s about creating an environment that supports us and makes us feel good. When you feel good, isn’t it easier to handle what life throws at you?
Feng Shui Garden tips:
You will notice that a lot of what we call ‘Good Feng Shui’ is also just good common sense. Some of the tips you probably do already.
- Make sure your house numbers can be easily seen from the street. Whether it’s on an address rock or mail box if your house is set back from the street or on your house itself, it’s good to have your address visible to passersby. Not only does it make it easy for the pizza delivery to be able to find you, but the front door is where the energy enters your home.
- Make sure there is a clear path to your front door. Again, this sounds like just good common sense. You would be surprised at how many clients’ houses I have gone to that I had trouble finding the front door. Pull up in the driveway and a path goes to the right and a path goes to the left with trees and shrubs blocking the view in both directions.
- Clear the clutter. We tend to do this once or twice a year inside our home, but the outside needs it too. How good does it feel after a weekend of spring cleaning? Don’t you feel great?! Clearing the clutter from the yard, (cutting back ornamental grasses, perennials, picking up leaves and trash the winter winds blew in, etc.) clears out old, stagnant energy and makes room for new adventures and opportunities.
- Use gentle sweeping curves. Sometimes people try to create interest in their yard by using squiggly lines. (edger lines, patios, pathways, etc.) A better way to do that is to use larger, sweeping curves. It looks better and creates a calmer, more comfortable feeling in a space.
- Add some bold color. In the right places, adding high energy colors (red, yellow, magenta) will attract energy. For example, near your front door add some colorful pots with brightly colored annuals. This will draw the eye (and the positive energy) to the front door of your home. It’s a focal point.
- Place things in pairs in the far right corner of the back yard. This is your relationship area. Relationships are about two people. Could be a romantic relationship or even mother-daughter, or brother-sister. The pairs in this area support and represent the relationship between two people.
- Add movement and sound. A waterfall or water fountain, a soothing wind chime can add a new element to your outdoor space that attracts energy and creates a comfortable feeling. Sound also helps counteract street noise.
- Spend time in your space. It’s important to spend time in your outdoor space. You will find that spending time in an outdoor space that you love will expand your living space and give you a sense of satisfaction. You can also more easily address weeds and other issues before they become a bigger stress if you are in your outdoors space on a daily or weekly basis.
Landscaping for the birds
Landscaping with birds in mind is good Feng Shui
Inviting birds into your yard brings good energy. Feng Shui teaches us that energy is attracted by movement, colors, sounds and living things. Birds bring all of these things into our gardens. Birdfeeders aren’t the only tools for attracting birds. By choosing the right trees, shrubs and perennials, you can create a habitat that will draw birds and other wildlife.
- Conifers provide cover, winter shelter and summer nesting sites. Some also provide sap, buds and seeds.
- Grasses and legumes provide cover for ground-nesting birds if the area is not mowed during the nesting season. Some also provide seeds.
- Nectar-producing plants attract hummingbirds and orioles. Hummingbirds especially like tubular red flowers, such as bee balm, coral bells and penstemon.
- Summer-fruiting plants include cherry, honeysuckle, raspberry, serviceberry, grape and plum. Birds attracted include brown thrashers, robins, thrushes, waxwings, woodpeckers, orioles, cardinals, and grosbeaks.
- Fall-fruiting plants include dogwoods, mountain ash, and cotoneasters. They are used by both migratory birds preparing to leave and non-migratory species preparing for winter.
- Many winter-fruiting plants are not palatable until they have frozen and thawed numerous times. These include chokecherry, snowberry, sumac and Virginia creeper.
- Nut and acorn plants provide food and nesting habitat. They include oaks, hickories, and sunflowers.
In addition to food and cover, birds and other wildlife need water. Water features (without chemicals) and bird baths are essential.
Got Squirrel?
- At May 06, 2015
- By blueirisdesigns@msn.com
- In Updates
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Maybe you think they’re cute, maybe you think they’re vermin. Either way, how do you deal with them?
Got squirrel?
If the answer is ‘yes’, what can you do?
The best way is to discourage them. Don’t make it easy for them.
- Cut back: Squirrels climb tree limbs, so a good rule of thumb is to cut branches until they’re six feet away from the roof line of your house — too far for most (non daredevil) squirrels to leap.
- Fix that feeder: If the home’s birdfeeder is the attraction, put an end to that by buying one of several varieties of squirrel-proof feeders. Or, give the squirrels something else to eat. Leave a pile of nuts or nail up a corncob away from the feeder.
- Block ’em out: Areas of concern should be covered with metal flashing, or quarter-inch mesh or even half-inch mesh. Extend the patch several inches beyond the hole in all directions to stop the squirrel from chewing around it.
- Collar that tree: Stop squirrels from climbing trees and power poles by wrapping them with a 2-foot-wide collar of metal, six feet off the ground. “Attach metal using encircling wires held together with springs to allow for tree growth.”
Important: One should always make sure that the squirrels are not present before sealing a hole.
Repellents
There is no ‘magic bullet’. Repellents are temporary, but they can still help.
- Hot sauce: There are products on the market that use capsaicin, the “hot” ingredient in pepper, to discourage squirrels from gnawing, for example. But the experts are skeptical about the effectiveness.
- Sticky stuff: Products that contain polybutenes, or sticky materials that can be applied to buildings, railings, downspouts and other areas to prevent squirrels from climbing, may also be effective because animals don’t like to walk on them. But it’s not exactly desirable to have strips all around your house like a sticky moat.
Source: Christopher Solomon
Yin and Yang your garden
Yin and Yang are opposites, but not in a bad way. Yin and Yang teaches us that without one, the other cannot exist. When you have both, you can create a harmonious atmosphere. This includes your back yard.
Yin = the feminine energy. Yin is soft and quiet, cold, dark and round. Yin is the night, the dark shadows.
Yang = the masculine energy. Yang is hard and loud, hot, bright and sharp. Yang is the day.
Sun and Shade = balance
Yin and Yang are compliments. You can balance these in the back yard by using certain colors, shapes, lighting and texture. For example:
- Make sure you have some sunny areas and some shady areas in your yard. A yard with no shade gets blasted with bright, hot sunshine and is too Yang and uncomfortable. A yard with too much shade is too Yin and can create a depressing outdoor space.
Feng Shui is about being in tune with your surroundings and that means nature too. Seasons possess Yin and Yang qualities as well. Summer is bright and hot and we crave a bit of Yin (such as a quiet, shady spot to relax or read a book). In winter, plants are dormant in Colorado and it feels quiet and it stays darker longer. This time of year, we crave the bright sunlight for some Yang energy!
Use Yin and Yang in your yard to create a harmonious environment for you and your family!
Career area = Water element
Waterfall
The Career area of the BaGua is associated with the element of Water. Adding the element of Water, or its representation (colors and shape), can raise the energy or ch’i in that area of your life. Use these Feng Shui tips to increase the energy to help support your goals and hard work.
The colors for the Career area are black, dark blue and dark green (think deep water). If you are looking at your backyard, the career area will be along the back of your house in the center. For a lot of people, the career area is just out the back door / sliding glass door and has a patio. This is a great place for some black furniture or outdoor rug with black in the design. Metal furniture is perfect because metal supports water.
The shape for the Career area is wavy lines (again, think of water or waves). Having curvy or wavy lines is perfect in this space. These lines could be in furniture, design on a rug or outdoor throw pillows.
The element for the Career area is (you got it!) Water. Add a water feature in this area. It can be in the form of a solar fountain on your patio or any other fountain that can be easily placed, filled and plugged in. You could also have a bird bath, but running water is ideal. Adding the actual element for the specific area is the best way to raise the energy in that space.
If you are really, really serious about making a change in your Career area, set an intention when you place these items in that space. Think about what you want in your career. Have you started a new business? Think about how you want that business to grow. Are you looking for a promotion? Think about what that would mean to you and how it would improve your life. Setting an intention around a change gives it much more power. Every time you look at the changes you are making, think about your intention and put your energy toward it. You will subconsciously change your actions and your behavior. You will be amazed at the results!
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