Feng shui and the art of arranging garden furniture
To get the best out of your garden furniture, you don't simply plonk it down anywhere in your garden. You are sure to give careful thought to where you put it - in the sun or in the shade? Near the house or away from it? Arranging your furniture is a matter both of practicality and aesthetics.
Here the wisdom of the Orient may be able to help, specifically the art of feng shui. Feng shui means “wind water”, and is the Chinese art of placement and design. It is based on the idea of balancing qi, the flow of energy, based on an ancient tradition of geomancy. Although some aspects of feng shui are arguably nothing more than folk remedies and superstitions, it also contains many sensible and aesthetically pleasing principles.
So here are some tips for arranging your outdoor furniture based on feng shui:
1. Incorporate the five elements of Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire in balance with each other. For example, you could have a rock garden, a Fermob chair, a Binchotan water purifier, and a wooden birdhouse and a firepit. Arranged carefully, these can add balance and harmony to your garden.
2. Align the different elements of your garden according to the bagua, to correspond with different elements of your life. The garden is part of the bagua, or energy map, of your house. It is an extension of your home, so consider its design and layout in light of that.
3. Balance ying and yang. Set complementary elements alongside each other, such as light and dark, soft and hard. Also think about how to balance passive and active energy: for example, a sun lounger for rest, balanced by a lawn for tennis, so that your garden is both for calm and for play.
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Posted by Iconography Ltd
11th July 2012
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