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areas in the garden, easy steps to design your garden, feng shui landscaping, feng shui master, feng shui steps, garden design, garden ideas, garden landscape, landscaping, roseline deleu
Creating your soul garden is about combining the metaphysical world of feelings and intent with the physical world of what is in your garden and what you want to do in your garden. Considering both allows for a balance to be created – the essence of feng shui – to create a soul garden.
8 Easy steps for anyone to create their soul garden:
Step 1. START FEELING
Taking a notebook and pen go outside in your current garden. Sit quietly for 5 minutes, looking around you. Write down what you see and how you feel about it e.g. I see a square of grass, dusty and dry with bare patches from where the dog scratches and I feel annoyed with its unkempt and bedraggled appearance. Do this exercise on sunny and cloudy days. Write a few sentences describing what you see and how you feel about it. Once you have decided how you feel about your current garden, sit quietly for a few more times to work out how you would like to feel in your garden. Write this down in your notebook.
Step 2. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO
This is the practical stuff. List all the things you would like to do in your new garden e.g. grow vegies, pick flowers, sit quietly in the sun, meditate, roll on the grass, make compost, dry clothes. Write down all these activities in the present tense using ‘what I like to do’. Then list them in order of importance to you.
Step 3. LOOK AT THE SITE
More practical stuff. Look at your garden and list all the physical features eg flat, level ground, hilly area in south, exposed to west winds, heavily treed. Check the soil type – sandy, loam, clay. Is the soil acidic or alkaline – check the Ph with a Ph kit from your garden centre. Look at the slope to assess drainage. Look at the boundaries. Is there a wider view that can be borrowed?
Step 4. DECIDE ON A STYLE
Style is about the type of look for your garden eg tropical, desert, cottage, zen etc. It will depend on personal preference, climate, existing features to remain and style of the house. The aim is congruence and balance. People often have problems with this step as they lack confidence. A simple solution is to get some gardening books and magazines and look at the pictures. Look for the ‘I like that’ factor, a picture that jumps at you off the page. Use your common sense. If you like a tropical theme but live where there are frosts you will have to choose plants wisely. Look at other gardens in your area, use the Open Garden Scheme, to get hints and ideas about plantings.
Step 5. REALITY CHECK
Go back and check whether the style you have selected fits how you want to feel and what you want to do in your new garden and what the physical elements of the site will allow. Balance involves layout, structures and plants that create the feelings you want, the style you like, uses plants that suit your climate and soil and uses water and other resources wisely. By now, you should have a good feel for the areas, functions and style that you want in your garden.
Step 6. USE FENG SHUI
Get a plan of your property, use the Bagua grid (see Roseline Deleu’s book : ”Your First Easy Steps to Feng Shui” http://www.fengshuisteps.com/books_products.html and have fun with Feng Shui. Lay the Bagua grid over the property plan aligning the bottom edge (8-1-6) with the main entrance to the garden. Using Roseline Deleu’s book, consider each of the sectors, their associated colours, shapes and elements in light of what you want to go where.
Step 7. DECIDE WHAT GOES WHERE
This is where it all comes together. You make decisions about what goes where. You may not fit all you want into the space or you may get stuck. If you do get all overwhelmed you can call on a feng shui landscape designer. Another option is to ask the Universe for help and to tell you which way to proceed. Then let it go ie don’t worry and look for signs that happen to show you the direction.
Step 8. CREATION
This is where you produce the design. Throughout the process, it is important that you hold fast to Step 1, keeping in mind the feelings you want to feel in your soul garden. Your creation will then become congruent and reflect what you want.
Another point to remember is that gardens are constantly evolving and changing, just like we should be doing as conscious human beings. Like you, your soul garden will change over time. As trees grow and create shade, new under plantings will be required. Some plants may not flourish and will need to be moved. You may relocate pots and ornaments. This is all part of the normal life cycle which should be honoured. Gardens are never static, they develop their own energies and, if you have created wisely, this energy will resonate with you. You will love and look after your soul garden because you consciously created it to reflect part of you.
For your Business, Home Consultation and Landscape Design on Feng Shui principles, contact Feng Shui Master Roseline Deleu – worldwide consultations and trainings – http://www.fengshuisteps.com