Feng Shui Gardens: Designing a Harmonious Outdoor Space

Feng shui gardens are becoming increasingly popular as people learn more about this unique design style. Creating a beautiful and harmonious outdoor space will help you to feel more at home and to enjoy your outdoor living spaces. Following the feng shui elements, you can learn new ways to design your home and garden. There are so many different things you can do to create a unique space, and so many landscaping ideas for a backyard might not be easily achievable. Making feng shui gardens is a great way to make your backyard unique and beautiful, as no two gardens are the same. 

 

What Is Feng Shui?

Feng shui is a Chinese art form that goes back thousands of years. Directly translated, it means “the way of wind and water.” The feng shui elements are yin and yang, which are feminine and masculine energies. These forces are said to be opposing but interconnected, so equalizing them creates harmony. Most people have seen the yin and yang symbol, which looks like two teardrops that form a circle with two smaller circles inside. This symbol depicts harmony and balance while still showing that the yin and yang oppose each other. This stems from the concept of “chi,” which is the life force of everything, even inanimate objects like furniture. The main idea of feng shui is that if you arrange space according to the feng shui elements, you can balance and create positive “chi,” which will affect your feelings and overall happiness. 

 

The Five Elements

The feng shui elements are water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. All materials fall into these five categories, so when creating feng shui landscaping, you can find how these elements interact. The five elements must be balanced for a space to feel harmonious. These elements have a lot to do with color and material. 

 

Water

The element of water invokes feelings of calmness, inspiration, and peace. In landscaping, water features and materials like glass are considered part of the water element. Reflective surfaces, black materials or paints, wavy shapes, and other design elements like this can help bring a sense of peace, serenity, and expressive quality to your yard. 

 

Wood

The element of wood invokes feelings of strength, growth, and intuition. In landscaping, this most often includes wooden features like furniture and pergolas, but it also includes trees. Certain kinds of trees make a yard feel more or less inviting, so there are aspects to that as well. You can add more of the element of wood by bringing in patio furniture, planting more trees, or adding an overhanging wooden shade or construction. Bringing in the design element of wood will make your backyard feel more like a safe and growing place. 

 

Fire

There are so many ways to add the element of fire that make your yard feel exciting and safe. The element of fire invokes feelings of enthusiasm, joy, and boldness. In landscaping, you can obviously add a fire pit or candles, but you can also add fire’s feeling through colors like purple and red or garden lighting. 

 

Earth

The element of earth invokes feelings of groundedness, balance, and unity. This looks like earth tones, which are dark brown, green, and tan. Earth is abundant in landscaping, so you mustn’t cover it all and overcrowd it with plants. Brickwork, stucco, and clay are all great additions. Adding the element of earth can make your yard feel more like a home. 

 

Metal

The element of metal invokes feelings of logic, focus, and analysis. Including metal through furniture or landscaping accents is a great way to add this, but it also incorporates white or metallic-like stone and round objects. Metal is also the perfect landscaping material because it lasts a long time and doesn’t get damaged outside like other materials. 

 

 

How Does Feng Shui Work?

There are many elements of feng shui, but not all apply to design. The main things that apply to designing or creating feng shui landscaping are simple. These are basic tenets or things you should do to make your home and garden flow with chi. 

 

Declutter

One of the most important ideas within feng shui is that things have their place, and chaos disrupts chi. Excess belongings can cause stagnant energy, so you need to remove them. Within feng shui gardens, you should never have clutter like garbage. Everything should be intentional. Extras need to be relocated or thrown away ASAP. 

 

Rearranging Your Space

Rearrange or add new items to your landscaping. Look around, see which of the five feng shui elements you already have in your yard, and see what might need to be added. You want to balance these elements and ensure there is not too much of any element. There are also rules to feng shui that split a room or yard into eight quadrants, called a bagua. This can help you decide where to put each item or where to leave things alone. Then all you have to do is sit back and relax! The bagua helps you to know how to create flow within your area so that you can easily organize and prepare your landscaping ideas for a backyard. 

 

 

Design Your Feng Shui Garden

There are so many feng shui landscaping ideas for a backyard or other outdoor space that you will cherish for years to come! Our Chicagoland team can help you design the yard of your dreams, either front, backyard, or both, and we can help you follow the tenets of feng shui. If you want to learn more about feng shui and create a perfect yard, contact us today for a quote!