When you're battling mosquitoes, UV rays, and summer storms, the last thing you want fighting against you is bad energy in your backyard. Constructing a feng shui backyard will help the energy flow through your space intuitively. And with cookouts, block parties, and outdoor activities on the horizon, there's going to be a lot of energy coming your backyard's way.
Feng Shui Backyards Contribute to Your Home's Energy
According to feng shui principles, tending to the outside of your house is far more important than working on the inside. This is because favorable energy that finds its way into your home gets generated from both the front yard and the backyard. No amount of interior feng shui remedies can counter a lack of outside chi energy. So, working on creating a feng shui-driven backyard design will, in turn, create a positive feeling in the inside of your home.
Things to Consider Before Designing a Feng Shui Backyard
Before jumping right into drawing up landscaping plans, there are a few things you should consider.
Poison Arrows and Afflicted Areas
Look over your existing backyard for any feng shui issues that need remedying before creating a new design. For example, a utility pole creates a poison arrow, but you can plant a grouping of bushy plants as a cure. Once you've identified all obstructions and possible causes of negative energy, mark these on a drawing of your backyard layout to guide the adjustments you're making. That way, you know what things should be at the top of your list to change.
Sloping Lots for Ideal Feng Shui
The ideal backyard should be slightly higher than the front yard. A yard that slopes away from the house is considered inauspicious since all chi energy flows away from the home. In feng shui, there are ways you can mitigate this error. Some of the remedies for downward-sloping backyards include as weathervanes, spotlights, tall trees, and boulders.
Plan Your Feng Shui Backyard by Optimizing Each Sector
When designing your backyard according to feng shui principles, you'll need to identify each sector. You can use a bagua, a map that's used to identify where energies are, over your home's plat map to guide the changes you make.
North Sector for Career
The north sector is governed by the water element, and the colors blue and black. To follow feng shui principles, you can add the following features in your yard's north sector.
- Select a water feature, such as a small koi pond, a faux or real stream, a fountain, or even a swimming pool (never larger than the width of the house).
- All running water should flow toward the house to carry good fortune to you.
Northeast Sector for Knowledge
The earth element rules the northeast, represented by the colors brown and yellow. When designing for this sector, think of adding features like these:
- A reading area with stone or concrete furniture.
- A wall, garden border, or other feature using rock or brick.
- A masonry patio that has lots of decorative clay pots filled with yellow flowers
East Sector for Health
The east sector is ruled by the wood element and the colors green and brown. Some of the ideas you can incorporate into your own east sector include:
- A wood deck is excellent for this sector.
- Plant life, such as shrubbery and evergreens, belongs in this sector and can be used to border a green manicured lawn.
- If you need screening from your neighbors, opt for a hedge or grouping of evergreen trees instead of something like a privacy fence.
Southeast Sector for Wealth
The wood element rules this sector with the assigned colors of green and brown. To create an energetically sound southeast sector, you can do things like:
- Enhance your wealth luck by planting lots of shrubbery, trees, flowers, and especially evergreens for year-round auspicious energy.
- Add a wood gazebo, pergola, or deck with lots of potted plants and flowers.
- Plant flora specifically with round or oval leaves (such as a jade plant) because they represent coins.
- Add a water feature to generate auspicious yang energy, since the water element feeds the wood element.
South Sector for Fame and Recognition
The governing fire element is represented with various values of red in the south sector. For your own south sector, you might want to:
- Add as many plants as you'd like because wood feeds fire.
- Plant a flower garden of brilliant colors, such as red, pink, purple, and orange.
- Add a wood deck and/or a fire pit.
- Highlight a (wood) dining table and chairs with strings of patio lights, lanterns, or candles.
Southwest Sector for Love and Relationships
The southwest sector is ruled by the earth element with the colors yellow and brown, and a few ways to feed its ruling characteristics are:
- Build a stone or brick patio in this sector.
- Add a statue depicting a happy couple or a pair of cranes.
West Sector for Descendants
The west sector is ruled by the metal element and represented by gold/yellow, silver/gray, and white. To abide by feng shui in the west sector, you can:
- Add metal playground equipment for kids to enjoy.
- Plant lots of white and yellow flowers. In particular, peonies are considered very auspicious.
- Incorporate metal yard art, especially pieces that depict children.
Northwest Sector for Mentor
Interestingly, the metal element also governs the northwest sector with different assigned colors: gold/yellow, silver/gray, and white. Ways to feed auspicious energy in your northwest sector include:
- Add a winding path and pave it with pebbles, stones or bricks, as the earth element feeds the metal element.
- Plant yellow and white flowers along the path.
Balance of Yin and Yang Energies
On top of intentionally optimizing the feng shui in each of your backyard's sectors, you also need to consider the yin and yang present. Just as interior feng shui design needs a balance of yin and yang energies, so does your backyard design. A few ways to balance the yin and yang throughout all of your sectors include:
- Create shaded areas in your yard, since yin energy is passive and dark.
- Layer lighting contrast by adding features like a pergola and bright flower beds.
- Landscape around a water feature (yang) with layers of tall and short trees, and various shrubbery for pockets of shaded areas (yin).
- Incorporate more yin by adding a cozy, shaded reading nook.
Apply Feng Shui Principles to Your Patio
For many people who have limited backyard space, the patio is their outdoor sanctum. If you don't have acres of greenery to mold to your liking, you can still increase the auspicious energy in your house by applying feng shui principles to your patio. This starts with using the bagua and identifying the different sections of your patio. Here are some ideas for how you can orient your patio according to feng shui's sections:
- North sector - Add a birdbath or a waterfall feature.
- Northeast sector - Set up a stone bench.
- East sector - Place a wood table or lawn chairs.
- Southeast sector - Add a few planters full of lush greenery.
- South sector - Add some lighting features and more plants in this section.
- Southwest sector - Add a few earth-toned decorations.
- West sector - If you have a metal grill, set it up here.
- Northwest sector - Add a few potted plants of yellow and white flowers.
Increase Good Energy by Creating a Feng Shui Backyard
Everyone wants to increase the good energy in their lives, and one of the things that might be holding yours back is the way your backyard is laid out. Layering various elements, colors and features in a new design will ensure you create an auspicious feng shui backyard full of good vibes.
