Incorporating Feng Shui & The 5 Elements Into Your Landscape Design

Feng Shui has been bringing balance and harmony to homes for hundreds of years, but did you know you can also use the ancient practices of landscape design? Certain colors, objects, and even plants can be arranged to promote good energy flow while still looking great.

Whether you’re looking to do a total overhaul of your current outdoor landscape design or just want to incorporate a few concepts, adding feng shui to your landscape design is sure to bring a fresh look to your outdoors space.

Determining Your Feng Shui Grid

Before you start reorganizing your landscape, you should first figure out your yard’s Bagua Map. In Western feng shui, this is done by standing in your home’s front door and envisioning the different sections. In landscaping, your ‘front door’ could be an actual door, the main opening in your gate, or any other place you feel is the ‘entrance’ to your landscape.

Once you’ve identified the entrance, envision your space divided into a 3 by 3 grid. This set of 9 squares is called a Bagua Map. Your Bagua Map will help you determine where to place the different pieces in your landscape design to create optimal feng shui.

Incorporating the Five Elements

Feng Shui is driven by the idea that the world is separated into five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. When making decisions about your landscaping, you should try to incorporate different aspects of each element into your design.

1. Wood

Wood represents new life, growth, family, and health — and luckily, it’s quite easy to integrate into landscape design. In your Bagua Map, wood should be placed primarily in the top left and middle left squares.

Trees, shrubs, and other plants are the perfect way to integrate this element, but other wooden pieces such as benches are great as well. Aiming for plants with soft, rounded leaves as opposed to sharp edges also adds to the overall balance of the area.

2. Fire

It’s not often that people think of ‘fire’ and ‘landscape’ together in pleasant terms, but it’s another critical element of feng shui. Fire should live in the top middle square of your Bagua Map, representing passion, fame, and recognition.

Fire pits are a great idea since the element is often associated with an improved social life, although grills and tiki torches are also great options. If desired, bright red or vibrant pink flowers will manifest that fire energy as well.

3. Earth

The earth element is representative of strength, balance, and stability. In your Bagua Map, this element should be placed in the top right and in the center. But of course, there’s more to this element than what’s already in your yard to start.

A few ways to incorporate this element into your landscape is with rock gardens, potted plants, clay decorations/sculptures, stone bird baths, or sandboxes. Warm browns and bright yellows will also add that earthy balance to your space.

4. Metal

Metal’s clean and smooth surface gives way to logic, organization, and focus. The right middle and right bottom squares of the Bagua Map are the ideal locations to bring this element into your landscape.

Any object made of gold, silver, iron, or aluminum are perfect additions to your metal areas. That could be a bench, a statue, windchimes, or lighting. For colors, grays and whites can represent this element as well.

5. Water

The final element in feng shui is water. Water signifies wisdom, spirituality, relaxation, and healing. The bottom left and bottom middle squares of your Bagua Map should house the majority of your water elements.

Water can be added in a literal sense through fountains, ponds, and other water features. Although blues and purples are commonly used to represent water as well, any freeform shapes or lines, such as curved pathways, also communicate that same water energy.

New Beginnings for Your Landscape

Using what you now know about the elements and their ideal placement in your landscape, it’s time to start considering changes you can make to begin feeling the effects of feng shui. Even if you’d rather start small, incorporating just a few of these techniques can have a dramatic outcome. But more than anything, make sure your space is working well for you — don’t be afraid to try new things and adjust down the line to ensure you get the most out of your landscape.

If you’re ready to give your landscape a fresh look, we’d love to give you a hand. Let us help you plan, design, and execute your dream landscape with our professional landscaping services. To learn more, book your free consultation today.