If you are interested in adding a self empowering twist to your gardening plans this year, you may want to check out the basic tools and techniques of Feng Shui. While most individuals are well aware of the joys of gardening, few are familiar with the added personal benefits this ancient Chinese science offers gardeners. According to Feng Shui, specific placement of elements in your garden or landscape such as color, water, bridges, gates, benches, wind chimes, special plants, statues, etc. can directly influence your ability to attract more health, wealth and prosperity into your life.

The basic precepts of Feng Shui are not unlike those of Acupuncture, Tai Chi' and Chi' Gong. Where the latter focuses on balancing chi' in one's physical body, Feng Shui focuses on balancing chi' in one's physical environment. Though three forms of Feng Shui schooling exist, Black Sect Tantric Buddhist Feng Shui is especially suited to the individual design preferences of gardeners in the western world. The foremost authority of this discipline, Feng Shui Grand Master Professor Lin Yun, is uniquely responsible for the widespread popularity of this discipline. In the past three decades Professor Lin has presented Feng Shui concepts in prominent places throughout the world including to: the Library of Congress, Harvard, Yale, MIT, Oxford University in England, Beijing University, the Chinese Academy of Social Science, and the Parapsychology Society of the United Nations, to name a few.

According to Professor Lin, harmonizing the chi' in one's garden or landscape offers us a direct means of enhancing our internal life experiences. With the use of an energy map known as a "Ba-gua", Feng Shui can be used to positively influence 9 key aspects of one's personal life: wealth, fame, marriage, children, benefactors, career, knowledge, family, and health. Each of these areas have specific locations, corresponding colors, and elements that influence them. For example, the "marriage" area is in the far right hand corner of your property, yard or garden. If you are interested in strengthening your current marriage/romantic relationship or drawing a new relationship to you, a simple feng shui recommendation would be to plant red, pink and/or white flowers in this location. Placing wind chimes in the marriage area is another ideal way to lift the chi' in your romantic life.