FENG SHUI 6 Easy Steps to Feng Shui Garden Design

1st Step : Demarcate Your Garden on Paper

Draw the site plan of the land on which the house stands, making sure you get the shape correct and have the boundaries carefully marked. Boundaries may or may not be visually demarcated with a hedge, wall or fence. If there is no physical demarcation, the shape of the overall garden is not well-defined and assessing its feng shui will prove problematic, but if there are demarcations, it will possible to examine the feng shui qualities of the shape of the site itself.

After you have drawn the site plan, place a piece of transparent paper with a nine-square grid over the plan. When you superimpose the square onto your site plan, try to ensure that the demarcation of the sectors is accurately measured. What you want to do is identify specifically the different compass sectors of the garden.

2nd Step : Decorate Based on the 5 Elements

When designing the garden, you need to decorate based on the element of each direction. For example, when designing the East or Southeast, we can see that in these sectors, the Wood element prevails. We know that here Spring is the dominant season, where visuals take precedence over the other senses, where the best shape is rectangles and the numbers 3 and 4 are auspicious. It is a place where youthful outward bursts of energy hold sway, so you should keep this part of the garden for the younger generation. Use the table above to undertake similar analysis for each part of your garden.

Element and Direction	Season	Shape	Animal	Symbol	Numbers	Energy	Climate	Colours
Fire ( South )	Summer	Triangle	Horse, Snake	Birds, Phoenix, Light	9	Upward	Heat	Red
Metal ( West, Northwest )	Fall	Round	Monkey, Rooster	Metal chime, bells, White Tiger	6, 7	Inward	Dryness	White
Wood ( East, Southeast )	Spring	Rectangle	Rabbit, Tiger	Leafy plants, flowers, bamboo, Green Dragon	3, 4	Outward	Wind	Green
Earth ( Southwest, Center, Northeast )	All Year	Square	Sheep, Ox, Dragon, Dog	Pebble, stone, rock	2, 5, 8	Sideways	Humidity	Yellow, Brown
Water ( North )	Winter	Wavy	Boar, Rat	Water feature, Black Tortoise	1	Downward	Cold	Black, Blue

3rd Step : Choose the Right Garden Furniture

Furniture and patios invite you into your garden to relax and enjoy the beauty around you. If you have created a place in your garden to sit and socialize, consider setting up an umbrella with table and chair, since this provides shelter from the sun and rain and represents the ultimate symbol of shelter and protection.

It is not a good idea to place benches in exposed parts of the garden. Also, always make sure they are well maintained. Any broken furniture will attract sickness. Throw away damaged pots and containers, and repair furniture that is broken. Use the table to the right to help choose the right garden furniture to create the right type of energy for the various parts of the garden and to effectively extend the living space of your family to take advantage of the outdoors.

If furniture is placed in :	It is auspicious if made of :	It is inauspicious :
North	Steel	If made of stone, granite or bricks
South	Wood	If painted black
East	Wood or painted black	If made of steel or painted white
West	Metal, stone, granite, bricks or painted white	If painted red
Southeast	Wood or painted black	If made of steel or painted white
Southwest	Stone, granite, brick or painted red	If made of wood or painted green
Northeast	Stone, granite, brick or painted red	If made of wood or painted green
Northwest	Metal, stone, granite, bricks or painted white	If painted red

4th Step : Select Auspicious Plants and Flowers

A beautiful garden with healthy plants and beautiful flowers is the best indication of a home that is enjoying good feng shui. A home surrounded by a well-tended garden reflects the presence of healthy energy synonymous with prosperous, happy and vibrant chi.

If you want to have good feng shui, you must invest time and effort making the land around your home come alive with beautiful plants and flowers. Do not allow them to grow wild and untended. This will create unwanted yin energy. Avoid plants like cacti, roses, bonsai or plants with thorns, unless they are outside your fenced property.

Auspicious Trees, Plants and Flowers

Plants and Trees	Flowers
1) Jade Plant	1) Peonies
2) Silver Crown	2) Chrysanthemums
3) Money Plant	3) Plum Blossom
4) Bamboo	4) Narcissus
5) Pine Tree	5) Lilies
6) Peach Tree	6) Magnolias
7) Orange Tree	7) Lotuses
8) Lime Plant	8) Orchids 5th Step : Select the Right Kind of Water Water as ornamental features of the garden have long been a crucial component of feng shui, particularly if you wish to activate for wealth and prosperity. Building an artificial pool of water offers great scope for your imagination and creativity. You can be very exact in the kind of pond you want. You can control size, depth and shape of your pool, and you can adjust its scale to fit your garden. Ensure that it fits naturally into its environment. Excessive water can turn this wealth - bringing element against you. You can construct your water feature any way you like – a waterfall, fountain, fishpond or a natural cascade of water. The best place for water is the North. If you are planning to keep fish in your pond, make sure the fish are healthy and the water is clean and clear. The best fish to keep are arowana, carps and goldfish. Turtles and terrapins are also very auspicious. 6th Step : Lighting in the Garden Lights represent the fire element as well as life-giving yang energy. The use of exterior lights is an effective way of harnessing earth luck and enhancing family and relationship luck. Lights attract energy from the earth and these energies can be channelled upward through hollow rods planted in the ground. Place garden lights in the South, Northeast and Southwest. Note : You must create a good balance of energies in the garden. Balance means making sure there is never an excess of any single colour, shape or form.