West Meets East©

By Caroline Patrick

Soul Garden

Spring is the season of promise, hope and rebirth. Using gardens to attract new energy into your space is one of the best ways to see nature in action. Whether you choose wild flowers to stimulate an outdoor space, planting herbs to attract healthy wild life or lush green gardens of fruits and vegetables, the environment will flourish when tended with loving hands.

Feng Shui gardens are a delight to behold. Use colors of the Bagua or eight-sided Art Wheel I have created helps to understand why certain shapes and colors entice Chi into your outdoor landscaping. Clear clutter from your properties to promote luck in Career and Wealth. Place tools in a tidy covered shed as I have seen too many wheelbarrows, shovels and dangerous hoeing objects outside the house in the Partnership Gua, all symbolizing “marriage must be work.” A bench or swing for two placed under a fruit-bearing tree with pink blossoms can visually encourage a couple to sit a moment under the umbrella and remember what brought them together in the beginning.

Read further for more ideas using The Art of Placement for “Gardens of Change.”

The ancient art of Feng Shui, translated as the balance of wind and water, examines the relationships between persons and their environment. This discipline examines how a place will be experienced emotionally and physically. Feeling at one with your home brings harmony. Discord seems to exist when sections of the house are missing. One suggestion I recommend is filling this missing ‘Gua,’ or piece of the eight-sided, octagonal-shaped grid placed over the floor plan of your home, to become a garden. We usually consider a ‘garden’ a small or large space filled with flowers or vegetables. The ‘garden’ I am suggesting is a more detailed ‘room.’

This outdoor room comes with walls of climbing vines to ceilings of wisteria. This gathering room which is created outdoors should include line, color, touch, sight and smell. All of these aspects have inherent messages that can transport us towards contentment. What type of soul garden fits your needs?

As a child, playing outside year round was a delight for me. One side of the property belonged to my grandparents. Their stately house stood tall and proud with Greek-shaped columns supporting a large veranda. This porch extended from the master bedroom. Children were not allowed on this balcony. Having said that, you can imagine the temptation and secret joy I received while sneaking out on this ‘tower’ above the world. I could see three houses down if I leaned over the railing just so.

Looking over the tall, steep edges, I could see and smell mints, lilacs and climbing roses. The fragrance seemed to lift up my body over the mass of blossomed bushes, bunched together forming ‘rooms’ and secret hiding places. Hiding in these masses of trees and bushes, I could eavesdrop on my brother’s latest plan to kidnap me and return me home for spying. His buddies listened intently as he dictated my future.

What childhood memories do you fondly recall? Colors, sights and fragrances bring memories of those innocent free times, which can be interwoven into your future.

This week’s workshop on Feng Shui landscapes and gardens became a wonderful network of like-minded people, listening to many ideas for special gardens. In planning for outdoor rooms, there are several aspects to consider. What memories brought you joy? Which trees, flowers, colors, smells and sounds soothed your mind? Did birds and butterflies live in your outdoor world? Do you want open spaces or privacy … or both? A child’s garden should provide joy, freedom, adventure and protection – tree houses, forts, swings, logs to walk on, hideouts; maybe a tree to climb, space to run and a water feature. Whether a garden hose or a wading pond, I notice water always calms my grandsons when I visit.

Maybe a meditation space is what you want. Choose a place of peace and tranquility. If neighbors intimidate with staring eyes, put up a three-sided lattice fence, add jasmine, hops, or favorite climbing plants to cover the wood to give this spot a special feeling. Peace and tranquility are the aim. Use a pond, boulder or circle for focus. Pathways create a journey for your entrance. Walk over lush grass to the hideaway. Stepping stones of tile, bark, gravel or crushed nutshells give your feet a sensory treat.

Another suggestion is a Lovers Garden. Privacy is #1. Enter through a threshold made from wood, metal or braided limbs to form an arch. Place a bench for a secret rendezvous.

Power gardens are used for self-esteem, reclaiming your self-worth. An elevated vantage point is necessary. A deck, balcony, upstairs window or a chair will give you the advantage of focusing on the center or heart of a round or Bagua-shaped garden. The center could contain a tree, boulder, gazing ball, crystals or sculpture.

Healing gardens for new health can replenish, restore and change your life. Provide a ceiling or arbor with a comfortable setting arrangement on the ‘floor’ of the very small room. This womb-like size will caress and support the body. Light should shine into the structure. Hang a crystal, mobile, or wind chime at the entry. These focus points bring balance into the mind, body and soul.

What will your garden be like? Plant flowers and shrubs in colors of red for energy; blue for self-esteem, mystery and knowledge; green for growth and tranquility; and purple for higher concentration. Pink provides a love vibration, while white is for the metal element and yellow is for intuition and health.

Give to yourself a gift of spirit. Think, play, relax, feel and love. Extend the sacred spaces to the outdoors for a new and free feeling. To choose a special space, walk around your property and see what feelings are evoked.

For more on the Art Wheel Colored Bagua go to www.fengshuiartistry.com and visit archives of other garden stories on www.moongateschool.com.

Caroline Patrick, Feng Shui consultant/practitioner, teacher/speaker, Feng Shui artist and writer, lives in the San Juan Islands, off the coast of Washington. Her weekly newspaper article called WEST MEETS EAST is a popular Feng Shui advice column. She enjoys answering your questions, when possible. Some questions will be chosen for publication with the permission from the reader. Enjoy her new 5 Element attached-folding cards which can be used as a Feng Shui enhancement or correction in any space. Larger prints of several selected paintings are also available. For consultations, speaking/teaching engagements and art evaluations contact her at caroline@fengshuiartistry.com or visit her websites at www.fengshuiartistry.com and www.moongateschool.com.

Any suggestions given in this column are only for entertainment. Please contact your physician for any medical or herbal advice or diagnosis. Caroline Patrick is not responsible for any misuse of her advice or suggestions.