If you've been to the gardening section of any bookstore lately you may have noticed that books devoted to Feng Shui seem to be this year's fastest growing topic. Although the art of placement for optimizing energy flow (aka. "qi" or "chi") has been around for thousands of years in China, it's only recently taken hold in the US. The ability to move plants around to cover existing negative design elements, and bring life to any space make container gardening a natural fit with feng shui design. Container gardening can play an important role in the design of both indoor and outdoor living spaces.
Ironically, most of the websites devoted to this ancient art of placement are poorly designed, and tend to focus on the power of Feng Shui to sell books, chimes and consulting services. But I managed to wade through the mess and find some balance. Below are my top picks for feng shui sites that deal specifically with using plants and container gardens.
A Flower Here, a Fountain There: Garden the Feng Shui Way
By Angi Ma Wong
http://www.homestore.com/Remodel/Dream/FengShui/Garden.asp
A Garden of Harmony
By Florida Gardener
http://www.floridagardener.com/misc/fengshui.htm
Feng Shui & Garden Design: Clarity in Edges & Paths
By Don Julien of the Seattle Rose Society
http://www.bmi.net/roseguy/fs3.html
Feng Shui and Gardening
From the Ultimate Feng Shui Resource
http://www.qi-whiz.com/gardens.html
Feng Shui Landscaping
From the 168 Feng Shui Advisors
http://www.168fengshui.com/Articles/landscaping.htm
Feng Shui with Houseplants
From Windowbox.com
http://www.windowbox.com/cgi-bin/experts/DisplayArticle.asp?ArticleID=247
If you're looking for a good book, try The Feng Shui Garden by Gill Hale published by Storey Books. Part 1 covers Feng Shui Principles. Part 2 gives more indepth information on creating a feng shui garden, including window boxes, roof gardens, and balconies. It's a good reference with lots of practical how-to information.
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