The veneration of nature and the perception of it as part of man himself was previously manifested in pagan religions. But in Slavic countries, pre-Christian religions have long since died out. But the Chinese still believe that any tree, blade of grass or stream can influence a person’s destiny, giving him positive energy or, conversely, taking away part of his vitality. The harmony between people and nature is called geomancy, and Tibetan monks live by its laws. In the West, only one branch of geomancy is known - Feng Shui. This direction deals with the arrangement of a person’s personal space - his home, plot and even wardrobe. It is believed that a feng shui garden helps a person live in happiness and attracts the necessary energies (love, fame, etc.). And the more carefully you arrange every corner of the space, the faster you will achieve your goals.
Your own garden can influence the owner’s inner world, even if he is simply watching it from the window. It nourishes the owners with vital energy, different depending on the season: in winter - calmness, in spring - energy, in summer - joy, in autumn - prosperity.
According to Feng Shui, the best garden is one whose shape resembles a rectangle or square and has a flat surface. Hills, depressions, holes and uneven shapes interfere with the direct movement of vital energy, delaying it and isolating it from its owners. If your garden does not fall under the definition of “ideal,” all the shortcomings can be corrected with the help of properly planted plants, small architectural forms, waterfalls, etc.
The Chinese consider a garden plot to be a single organism that functions correctly only when it contains all life systems and they are interconnected. There should be 9 zones in the garden.
The site, divided into zones according to Feng Shui, consists of nine sectors of the same size, the total area of which corresponds to the size of the site
To divide the space of the site into these zones, you need to stand right at the entrance to the garden so that it is completely before your eyes. The first stripe of zones that a person will face are the zones of Reliable Friends, Career and Wisdom. The second lane includes Children, Tai Qi and Family. And on the opposite side of the site there is space for zones of Glory, Wealth and Relationships with people. Each of them must be arranged correctly in order to retain its energy in the garden.
The easiest way is to plan the filling of each sector first on paper. To do this, you need to take a sheet of paper and cut out a shape that matches the parameters of your site. For example, your land is 70 m long and 50 m wide, so cut out such a rectangle, taking millimeters as the unit of measurement. Now divide it into 9 even parts, three in a row. And label each resulting sector with its name.
There are also areas with uneven shapes and curvatures. Then you will have to draw the real shape of the garden on one sheet of paper, and on transparent paper or film - an ideal rectangle drawn into sectors and put it on top. This way you will see which sectors are completely filled and where there is not enough land. It is the missing zones that should be developed first, because their influence is very weak.
- 2 Career Zone: first row in the center
- 3 Trusted Friends Zone: lower right corner
- 4 Family Zone: left square in the center stripe
- 5 Tai Qi Zone: center of the area
- 6 Children's Zone: right side in the center row
- 7 Wealth Zone: far left corner
- 8 Glory Zone: center of the back lane
- 9 Zone of Relationships with People: right corner at the back
Wisdom Zone: first to the left of the entrance
The Wisdom Zone is located in the very corner of your garden. This is the calmest and most balanced sector in which you should rest alone and be closed from prying eyes.
The more closed the Zone of Wisdom is from prying eyes, the more favorable it influences its owners, setting them up for smart thoughts
All arrangement of the sector should be subject to the idea of privacy. Create as much silence and beauty as possible. To do this, plant a hedge or a row of trees with a dense crown on the neighbors’ side. Create a kind of “cave” inside the area: place a single bench or hang a hammock, and surround the area on all sides with climbing plants or shrubs that will create an enclosed space. Let the only exit from this space lead into the house. For the Wisdom zone, choose colors in the solar range (yellow, orange, pink, red). Let it be flowers of this color, tiles, coloring of a rocking chair or hammock, etc.
Northwestern sector – 4
The most “democratic” sector, where a variety of plants grow well. Here you can plant all the berry and vegetable plants of sector 3, as well as a huge amount of greens, from which it is so nice to make a vitamin salad. The popular watercress, for example, has not only an excellent taste, but also many medicinal properties: it has a general strengthening effect and improves immunity. Watercress is used as an expectorant for bronchitis. It activates hematopoietic processes and is a good preventative against atherosclerosis. It is an excellent antidepressant and completely easy to care for. It can be sown next to any other lettuce - it will get along well with it.
Career Zone: first row in the center
In order for your career to constantly go up, you need to create a kind of oasis in this zone, in which the main attention is paid to water. Create a fountain or stream in which the water will be constantly moving so that the flow of your life will be exactly like this.
You can build a decorative fountain yourself, read about it:
All water in the Career area should flow towards the house so that its energy is retained within the area and does not go out
Don't dig a pond. Standing water will stop career growth. Winding paths, flower beds with smooth uneven shapes, pots and mounds are added to the water feature. But select plants carefully - only in silver-blue and golden-white tones. There should not be a sunny gamma, because it reduces career success.
Yin and yang in plants
The Chinese landscape is presented as a symbiosis of the two elements yin and yang. On one side there are rocks, hills, boulders (yang), and on the other there are deep waters of ponds (yin). Their juxtaposition makes it possible to see their unique beauty. Growing alone against the backdrop of a bare rock, the flower looks extremely beautiful.
According to Feng Shui, plants are divided into “Yang” and “Yin”. The “yang” ones include willow, bamboo, cherry, chrysanthemum, orchid, peony, and the “yin” ones include rose, peach, rhododendron, magnolia, apricot, jasmine.
Not all of these plants take root in Russia, but you can still plant some of them. The Chinese garden is calm and quiet, but it has movement and rhythm that is unique to it. The sounds of water rushing over stones, the rustling of leaves.
Trusted Friends Zone: lower right corner
The purpose of this sector is communication. Therefore, a platform is being created here where noisy groups with reliable friends will gather. You can make a patio, you can make a gazebo.
It is advisable that the gate to the site be located precisely in the zone of Reliable Friends, because in this way you open the way for their energy
Be sure to place a round lantern-lamp at the corner of the area, which will attract friends into your home with light. The Reliable Friends sector is the best place for parking. Firstly, this is the beginning of the site, so transport will not have to go through the entire garden, and secondly, the parking lot (or shed) will attract other cars to the house, which means your friends will come more often.
Not recommended for fire colors: all shades of red.
Five elements
The five elements of the universe, the five elements, all of them serve as conductors of qi energy, and personify certain feelings, colors and shapes. The goal pursued by the creator of the Chinese garden is that all the elements are represented in the garden, and they are in harmony with each other, that is, the energies of yin and yang are in balance.
Such balance can be achieved if you lay out the garden systematically and consciously, using all decorations according to the rules of Feng Shui. The presence of all the elements does not make the garden colorful. Variety is unacceptable in a Chinese garden; the main thing is to find a balance between shape and color.
This is a special art. A flight of fancy is possible here, bring something of your own. It can be anything. In the table you will find symbols for the expression of the five elements.
Family Zone: left square in the center stripe
Relationships within the family and between relatives will depend on the arrangement of this zone.
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The family zone should become a common gathering place for all relatives, so that it unites them and gives them the opportunity to get to know each other more deeply
It is best to designate this sector as a family recreation area, the so-called summer living room. Let there be a table with chairs where the whole family can have tea in the evenings. If this sector just happens to be on the terrace, great. Set it up for relaxation. If the house is completely on the other side of the site, then create a separate terrace or at least pave the area to place furniture on it. But since this zone turns out to be on the side of the site, isolate the side that looks at the neighbors with green plantings.
Let no one interfere with your family vacation with their glances. It would be nice if a pond or other water feature was created near the recreation area. It encourages a smooth flow of thoughts and smooth communication.
You can learn how to make a pond on your site yourself from the material:
garden furniture
Benches, chairs, tables that we place in the garden to work or relax must meet the requirements of Feng Shui. What are these requirements?
It would be nice if the shape of the garden chair symbolically represented the location of the four symbolic animals. The back is a Turtle, the armrests are a Dragon and a Tiger.
Garden furniture is made of either wood or metal (aluminum tubes). In the old days, garden benches were made of cast iron. This material is quite hard, so you need to pay attention to the design so that your legs don’t get numb from sitting on such chairs.
As for the garden table, it all depends on its use. Let's say you want to put a dining table and chairs. The octagonal bagua-shaped tables are preferable.
If you cannot get such a table, let's talk about the features of other tables.
A rectangular table (the edges must be rounded to avoid “poison arrows”) is suitable for feasts.
A round table is good for negotiations, but you can’t sit at it alone: the energy charge that the circle creates is too strong.
A square table is not suitable for lively conversations, but is good for eating. If you have such a table, turn it into something like a coffee table, placing a cozy chair next to it. You can keep handicrafts or a book on the table.
Tai Qi Zone: center of the area
The central square in the garden is the zone of your health and vitality. It is she who accumulates all the energy coming into the garden from the outside and gives it to the owners. The more open the space, the better it is visible from all sides of the site, the healthier the family will be. There should be no buildings here that interfere with the movement of energy.
The Center Zone accumulates the vital forces of the owners and their health, so there should be no barriers in it that prevent the penetration of energy
The best option is a flat lawn with a spiral-shaped flowerbed in the center and a mirror ball on the leg, which greatly enhances the influence of the Tai Chi zone. It is necessary that garden paths extend from the lawn to other sectors. It is through them that life-giving forces will flow into the center.
Bagua for the garden
The symbolism of the “magic square” can be understood in the context of modern knowledge about natural phenomena. We look at the “magic square”. The designations “LAKE” and “THUNDERSTORM” are located on opposite sides of the octagon. Their interaction leads to the generation of a wave.
With the interaction of “SUN (FIRE)” and “MOON (WATER)” we get photosynthesis. This serves as the basis of life on Earth. “EARTH” and “MOUNTAIN” create a solid foundation for life. “WIND” and “SKY”, here are another pair of opposite symbols, as a result of the interaction of which we receive moisture.
Real Chinese gardens, laid out according to all the canons of Feng Shui garden , were arranged so that people could admire the changing seasons. The paths in these gardens were made winding so that a person walking could observe the phenomena occurring in the garden from different sides. The variety of topography in the garden was simply mesmerizing.
Special viewing platforms were also made on elevated surfaces, and low walkways were built at the edge of the reservoir so that everything could be seen in detail.
The Chinese garden is characterized by a large rounded hole in the stone wall used for passage, the so-called “moon gate”, they seem to invite you to look into the eternal world of nature.
Children's Zone: right side in the center row
This is the wildest area in the entire garden. It should be filled with fun, excitement and laughter. If there are small children in the family, create a playground for them. Install slides, sandboxes, swings.
You can learn how to build a playground with your own hands from the material:
The more daily activity there is in the Children’s area, the more cheerful and energetic the owners of the site will be, so the site must be equipped to the maximum
If the children have grown up, then their place can be taken by pets or flower beds with an abundance of interesting, fragrant flowers. Let butterflies circle above them and bees hover. Their movement will bring fresh energy of cheerfulness and enthusiasm into your life. Yes, you yourself will be able to potter around in the flower beds all day long, caring for the plants.
What should a Chinese garden be like?
The aesthetics of the Chinese garden goes back to ancient times, when wise rulers with philosophical knowledge tried to achieve perfection in combining earthly and heavenly beauty.
Feng Shui considers the garden and the house as one whole. A person, a house and a garden, which give him the opportunity to observe the whole world in miniature - hence the river meanders, creeks, and slides in the Chinese garden. If there were no such natural beauties in the garden, they were created by arranging waterfalls and making mounds.
In the evening, lights were lit in the garden and music was played. The Sun Dynasty fell because the emperor was busy with rocks for his garden, which were delivered from distant provinces, and ruined the state.
Chinese architecture has created a unique approach to landscape design. The center was free, and construction was carried out on three sides (according to Feng Shui of the garden , the center should be empty).
In the west, the courtyard was filled with even rows of rectangular beds with medicinal plants (for example, in monasteries) or fragrant flowers; the followers of Taoists left the center empty - but not deserted, but fraught with great opportunities.
According to this philosophy (which is also aesthetics), man has no right to dictate to nature what form it should take; everything should develop naturally, without human violence.
In a Chinese garden there are no geometrically correct hedges and trimmed bushes; all the bushes there have their own form given to them by nature. Even the landscape, which was created artificially, had to look as if nature had created it.
Wealth Zone: far left
Everything tall is located in the Wealth zone: columnar trees, tall sculptures, garden lanterns on high legs. They must catch the energy of money and leave it on the site. By the way, a compost heap is considered a symbol of future wealth, because fertilizer ripens in it! But it must be fully decorated and have an aesthetic appearance, because money is treated with respect.
Water in the Wealth zone attracts cash flows, so in the absence of streams or fountains, bowls and other containers with water are placed
Attracts wealth and running water. If there are no water features in this part of the garden, you can simply place containers of water along the back side of the area. At the same time, the plants will have something to water.
Northeast sector-6
There is complete order with positive energy here. To enhance the effect, you can plant cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, eggplants, pumpkin, potatoes, and legumes. By the way, potatoes and legumes, in particular beans, get along well together. This is a good space saver - beans can be sown next to potatoes. In addition, beans have a beneficial effect on the soil. After fruiting, the plants can be buried in the rows; next year the soil here will be loose and fertile.
Glory Zone: center of the back lane
Glory is subject to the forces of fire, so it’s a good idea to organize a barbecue in this area, put up a barbecue, or at least make a fire pit.
Fire is an indispensable attribute of the Glory zone, so they create a barbecue on it, set up a barbecue or grill, or simply set up a fire pit
All shades of red should help this zone: noble red roses, barberries, wine grapes, etc. Do not place clay accessories in the Glory zone. They are connected with the energy of the earth and restrain the gusts of fire.
Relationships, love
In Feng Shui, all zones are equal. However, based on the condition of plants in the southwestern direction, one can judge the ability of the owners to get along with others. Living flowers, shrubs and plants filled with strength speak of a light character and non-conflict. Sluggish, dull, diseased plants encourage you to reconsider your relationships with others.
It is better to plant all shrubs and trees in this area in pairs. And it is preferable to make flower beds in pairs and symmetrical. Tulips, irises, lilies, and sunflowers have proven themselves well in the southwestern direction.
