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West Meets East© By Caroline Patrick BorNei Expand and Support Your Love Relationships with Gardens
Since the weather is so beautiful this week, I thought we would take a walk outside into your garden. You don’t have one? You need to remedy that. The color of the plants aid the ambiance and beauty of our surroundings to enhance mental clarity and support peace, while their aromas aid with their healing properties.
Gardens have been an important part of people’s lives since time began. The one that first comes to mind is the Garden of Eden. I’ll bet the reason Adam and Eve had bad luck in the end was their partnership corner had only one apple tree instead of two! Two trees would have symbolically helped the situation by balancing that section or Gua of the garden. Then there was that pesky snake hanging in the tree – what was that all about?
If I had been around, I would have suggested a wonderful area be created to balance the relationship corner of their property, which happens to be the far right area of the backyard, as determined from the street. The ideal garden for the marriage side of your house should include plants that bloom into beautiful flowers of red, pink and whites, peach colors and apricot tones, for these are the colors which activate this section of the Bagua, that ancient Chinese eight-sided grid which is placed over the floor plan of your home or your property to bring balance and harmony, which we call Feng Shui.
Roses were the number one choice for the Greeks and Romans. Even though I worry about the symbolic symbol of the thorns being ‘a sticky situation,’ they are considered highly prized for their association with love because of their beauty and aroma.
Aromatherapy isn’t at all new. The first historical evidence of growing roses can be traced back to around 2,600 BC when the King of Sumeria brought back a ‘tree of roses’ from an exhibition. It takes several pounds of petals to make an ounce of pure rose oil essence. If you have ever smelled the real thing, cheap imitations will never please your senses again. Their medicinal qualities have been praised throughout history. Today rose leaves, petals and hips are used to bring down fevers with their cooling properties. A tea made from this will help clear skin rashes and toxins from the body.
Rose hips are loaded with carotene, pectin, fruit acids, fatty oil, Vitamins B, C, E and K. I have a wonderful old established rose garden in the back of our yard. Several varieties of colors bloom in this perfect Bay Area location.
Being an herbalist for years, I love to gather nature’s gifts, understand the plant’s properties and use them to nurture the body in different ways. Pillows can be crafted using rose petals as a filling to help insomnia. The aroma is both pungent and cooling.
Rose hips are gathered in the late fall after a crisp frost, which turns the base a bright red. The hips contain large amounts of vitamin C and are dried and stored for healing teas. Rose hips, petals and oil have a restoring effect on the nervous system, lifting the spirits and calming anxiety. Having an affinity with the female reproductive system, they also help relieve pelvic pain and other similar symptoms.
Rose geranium is another favorite of mine, perfect for a pink flower, and an aroma you can’t forget. Ice cream can be made using this flower’s flavoring instead of vanilla.
Another reason to use the colors of red in your Partnership garden is to awaken the soul to the musical sound of this color. Each musical note has a sound. The Russian composer Scriabin was profoundly interested in the study of music and color. His correlation to the color Red was the musical key C. Violet is C sharp, dark red is F, rosy orange is G, and purple is G sharp.
An herb garden is a perfect selection for any part of your landscaping. Not usually needing as much water as the transplanted hybrid plants, we can not only enjoy the wondrous flowers and blossoms of nature’s natural healing varieties, but also use them to keep the family’s health intact. All the way from the roots to the seedpods of the purple coneflower known better to you as Echinacea Angustifolia, when taken every two hours, it makes an excellent immune system tonic. It also enhances one with its antibacterial and antiviral properties; it is most widely known for fighting colds and flues.
This is just a sampling of the hundreds of plants that can be used in this section of your yard using the pink spectrum to enhance you Partnership Gua.
Be sure to add a bench for two people, or a romantic setting with a statue is also nice. Find a piece depicting two lovers. Inviting the Chi energy to join in your private conversations will help with any communication situation if a problem arises.
Caroline Patrick BorNei is a certified Feng Shui Practitioner and a Red Ribbon Professional of The International Feng Shui Guild. Her abilities as a consultant and artist are widely known in the US and abroad. Caroline has completed over 5000 consultations for individuals, large and small businesses. Return clients appreciate the value of her suggestions both mundane and transcendental, providing support on multiple levels. As a college art instructor for many years, Caroline understands the power of color; its symbolism and the visual effect images have on individuals in their surroundings. Her home base is Portland, OR where she continues to write, teach, paint, do illustrations and give herbal medicine making classes. She is available for Feng Shui consultations; Feng Shui art consultant, advises builders, architects and mentors a few serious students. Call (503) 208-2960 or email caroline@fengshuiartistry.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. Caroline’s “West Meets East” weekly newspaper column can be read from archives on her website www.fengshuiartistry.com.
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