A Wind From the East Can Bring Harmony to Your Back Yard

Gardens can make you feel relaxed or energized, depending on their design. Do you know how to balance the energy flow in your landscape design to ensure that it will be comfortable and harmonious with your surroundings?

The ancient Chinese established a code for creating comfort in the garden that can also guide Western gardeners. Here is a guide to some of the key concepts in this ancient discipline, known as feng shui.

A Brief Glossary

¿ Qi, Ch'i, energy flow. Energy flow is always in motion, moving over and around objects and people -- too much is not good, too little is anti-productive. It can be blocked by walls or trapped in corners, becoming stagnant. The objective is for qi to flow gently through openings, not being too aggressive (positive) or too passive (negative). Striking the perfect balance in your design is the objective.

¿ Yin and yang. These terms describe the opposing forces that act on qi -- yin (passive) and yang (aggressive). The symbol for yin and yang is a circle with a curved line bisecting it, arranged in two colors, with a spot of each color on the opposing side. The goal is to achieve this symbolic balance in your garden. Too much yin or yang can create an adverse effect. When balanced, they provide proper energy and harmony.

¿ Feng shui. The discipline of bringing this balanced qi to all aspects of your life, including home and garden, is called feng shui. It's literally translated as "wind water," two of the most powerful forces on earth. They are considered part of the cosmic energy found in everything by those who subscribe to the theories of feng shui. Wind and water carve canyons, erode mountains, determine the location of cities, and dictate whether there will be rich soil to support life or rock that won't.

Harmony in the Garden

Feng shui was developed to bring balance, harmony and serenity to people's lives. Its theories are applicable everywhere: workplace, home and garden. In the garden, it's an opportunity to take advantage of your environment, ameliorating energy-flow problems occurring as a result of the way your house and property are sited.

Feng shui principles can be applied to a formal, traditional, cottage, prairie, naturalized, woodland, rock or any other kind of garden. You need not adhere to all of them. Decide which ideas make sense for you.

According to feng shui principles, the ideal spot for a home is halfway up a mountain, with a gentle river in front. This is not possible for most of us. Feng shui experts have developed cures that symbolically represent the ideal placement and surroundings. A hedge of trees at the backyard property line represents mountains, and a curving walkway in the front yard stands in for a river.

Facing south is the best direction for a house, and ideal lot shapes are squares or rectangles because qi, or ch'i, flows best in symmetrical spaces. Oddly shaped spaces must be remedied to assist energy flow.

The front yard represents active -- yang -- energy, public space. Yang colors are warm reds, yellows, oranges and bright whites. Ideally, the front yard should face south because yang energy corresponds to sunlight, which is positive.