Plotting your garden

If you have a garden, it is a significant element of your living environment and deserves to be treated with the proper respect. It is not just an extension of your house: it is a space in its own right. If you are thinking about how to design your garden or choosing a home with a garden, you can apply The Five Animals. The tortoise side of your garden, whether it is a front or back garden, is determined by the wall of your house. The phoenix aspect of the garden is the end of the plot farthest away from the home. Thus, the back wall of the house faces the larger part of the garden at the rear. So that wall is the tortoise side of both the house and the garden.

Different levels

Some gardens are built on a slope. And if your are planning a garden, you may want to landscape a slope in it. There are three appropriate arrangements. A level garden, with no slope, is always suitable. Or you can slightly raise the level of the garden behind your house, giving strength to the tortoise side of your home. If you wish to have a contour in the garden itself, the hightest point shoule be on the dragon side of the plot (the left side as you look into the garden from your home).

The power of trees

Trees are extremely powerful fields of energy, some of nature's most powerful transformers. They have had a special place in the Chinese cultural tradition for centuries. The positoning of trees is therefore of great importance. As a general principle, they should not be too close to your house, but are best placed on the dragon side and toward the phoenix aspect (the far end).

Water in your garden

The positioning of water around your house is of great importance in Feng Shui, following the principles of the I Ching. The inset plot shows how to determine where to place ponds or other bodies of water: they should always be in the front two quadrants and never to the rear.

Shrub energy

Low-level shrubs and flowers beds are best placed on the tiger side of your garden (on the right-hand side as you face the garden from your home). Their low-lying, intense energy is most appropriate in this position. Try to keep the far end of the garden somewhat clear - so that the phoenix aspect is not entirely blocked.