Living green in the city?

An ancient Chinese art, Feng Shui teaches one how to harness positive energy from the environment through correct placement of objects to encourage harmony and balance. Plants and fresh flowers give the house a fresh and lively atmosphere and according to feng shui expert Manish Potdar, all plants have a positive effect on life

Although we may live in the city and are always trying to improve our homes, we can enjoy the countryside within our city homes and here are a few examples :

In Feng Shui artificial plants do share those same qualities, outcomes and significances of real plants and flowers.

Placing some green colour ornaments  such as flowers, floor mats or some indoor plants, at the east end of your dining room, living room, balcony, entrance hall or even the kitchen; promotes both growth and prosperity in life.  However, this is definitely NOT the case with the bedroom.

Although you can have as many plants as you like for your home decoration, you should pick only those where the leaves or stalks are not pointed or needle shape. These sharp pointed leaves (like pines or cactus) are not favorable when used in your homes.

If you are the mother, wife, or daughter of the home why not try some flowers in a beautiful vase positioned in the southwest end of the house or in a southwest crook of the living room which will not only promote the loving family atmosphere but also help to create a stable happy married life environment.

It is also believed by the Chinese that you should not have dried flowers in your house as dried flowers are dead flowers which can be translated as your wealth “dying”. However, it is perfectly acceptable to have artificial flowers.

Also, clear away clutter in your garden or yard by trimming those overgrown plants and getting rid of any cut down vegetation or cut down trees. A really helpful side benefit of this can be a vase filled with trimmings such as cherry or apple blossom branches which would be a beautiful enrichment to your living environment.

I have found the following table most useful:

Table borrowed from indiaflower blogspot

Anon