The Feng Shui of Trees --Planting Good Luck Trees are important life source and vital members

of our outdoor community. Often called "the lungs of the Earth," trees take the carbon dioxide that we breathe out and return it to us as oxygen. They also prevent groundwater run-off and soil erosion. It is obvious that trees are a crucial part of our living Earth and treasured members of our landscape family. Besides being beautiful, they provide us with shade, beauty, and a wonderful place to climb or swing from. Fruit and nut trees give us good things to eat. On a less tangible level, trees also exert a powerful influence on the feng shui of our homes. For this reason, it is important to look at the trees surrounding your home. What else do trees have to offer us? Let's take a look at the feng shui of trees. 1. Trees give excellent support. Planted at the rear of a house, trees provide important "Mountain support" at the rear of a property. Ideally, all homes and businesses are situated on a lot with a rise at the rear of the property. If this rise is missing, or if the landscape is flat, or if there is nothing taller or larger than your house or building, vital support can be missing, making you have to struggle in key areas of your life. This rear support is a critical element in feng shui. Planting a row of five trees across the back of the property can simulate the missing support. 2. Plant bamboo for the best luck of all. Bamboo is considered a tree although its habit is more like that of a hedge. At the back of a property, bamboo gives solid support. At the left or east side of the property, it gives excellent dragon energy - considered the best energy of all. At the front of the property, bamboo gives very auspicious energy for wealth and opportunity. The front is considered its most auspicious planting location. So, consider potting bamboo to put in the front of your home! 3. Flowering trees bring reward. Orange trees are believed to bring wealth and are especially beneficial when planted in the SE corner of the garden. Lime trees are also helpful and bring wealth, particularly to SE facing homes. Lime and oranges planted at the front of the house bring great opportunities in the form of wealth and advancement. Apple trees are believed to promote good relationships in the home. Plant pomegranates to stimulate love - even pregnancy. Planted in the south, pomegranates and apples can also bring recognition luck. Plant peaches in the west for excellent and lasting children's luck and family happiness. 4. Plant trees to raise beneficial chi. If your home or business slopes down on the left side (as you look out of the house) or is low here, trees can be planted to raise the chi. This puts the auspicious "dragon" more in control, rather than the tiger (or right) side of the house (again, as you look out of the house toward the street). Be sure to have trees planted on both sides of the house to keep the household harmonious. Trees on the left control the husband's anger and trees on the right control the wife's anger. 5. Trees promote growth and good health. Planted on the east side of the house, trees can stimulate personal growth and good health. Select large hardwood varieties for this side of the house.

6. Plant pines for longevity. Want to grow to be a ripe old age? Plant pine trees. These are considered to be especially auspicious when planted in the east corner of the yard. 7. Remove dead trees. Dead or decaying trees can draw a tremendous amount of energy from a home. Be sure to remove any dead or dying trees, especially if someone in the home is ill or elderly. 8. Trees must not touch the house. Any tree touching a house will give the house "yin" energy - which is negative energy. Make sure there are no limbs touching the house. 9. Keep trees away from earth corners. Earth corners include the SW, NE, and center locations. Strenuously avoid having trees at the center of your lot or home (either in a container or in an inner courtyard) as this causes severe financial difficulties. Trees planted in the SW corner of the garden create relationship difficulties and trees in the NE create educational problems. 10. Use trees to block negative energy. If there is a view of something that is unappealing, or a church, hospital, or cemetery directly across from your house, plant a row of trees to block the energy. They can also be planted to block poison arrows created by roads. 11. Trees must not be planted in front of the door. Trees that block a door, block opportunities and promote personal struggles with finances and career. Either remove the tree or if you can't cut the tree down, then place a gazing ball or mirror that pushes the tree energy back. Trees opposite the door can affect your life in "creating" what you want -- including getting pregnant. 12. Plant weeping willows in the water sectors. Weeping willows and other weeping plants are generally not considered to be good feng shui. However, I believe they can be planted as long as attention is paid to where they are planted. For instance, they should not be planted in front of the house or there will be problems with career and constant stress and sadness. They should also not be planted at the rear, as they suggest water, and water at the rear of a property is not beneficial. Instead, plant them where their "fountain" effect is utilized, such as the southeast, north, or east sectors of the garden, unless these areas happen to be at the front or the rear of the property. Harmonize Your Yard: 8 Ways to Add Feng Shui Outdoors Gardens are increasingly becoming a center of attention for homeowners and more and more, gardeners are looking for ways to create beautiful and harmonious landscapes. Part of this trend is the desire to make our outdoor areas exude tranquility and peacefulness. A cornerstone in that movement is feng shui. Feng shui, often called the Chinese art of placement, offers homeowners a method for creating spaces that are both harmonious and balanced. In feng shui, there is a place for every element, and good feng shui relies on incorporating and balancing all of the elements. In the landscape, this would include landscaping features and objects, such as timbers, stone, trees, flowers,

windmills or windchimes, and even compost bins, with each having a specific place according to feng shui. To incorporate feng shui into your landscape, it is important to include all the elements, such as water, metal, fire, wood, and stone. This creates harmony and balance outdoors -- and this is what creates that serene and comfortable feeling. To get started, begin by sketching the layout of your yard and be sure to note where your house, large trees or other landscape features are. Next, and as much as possible, divide the sketch into nine equal squares. Using a compass, determine the four corners of the yard by direction (north, east, south, west). Then, determine the subdirections (northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest). Now you can plan and place your landscaping features and elements as they correspond to each direction. This ensures correct placement of the element. By using feng shui this way in your landscape, you can create an outdoor environment that is an extension of your indoor environment, making you more comfortable and relaxed both indoors and out. Enhancing Your Landscape with Feng Shui 1. Be sure to remove outdoor clutter first. One of the central ideas of feng shui is making sure that good energy, called sheng chi, can flow. If you have dead trees or plants in the yard, your landscape may be dull and lifeless. To improve this, be sure to remove dead or dying plants. This is important to do even in winter when plants die back. Remove frost-bitten and dead plants right away, rake up leaves, and remove fallen branches. 2. Install a water feature to boost outdoor relaxation. Nothing is as soothing as water, and a water feature in the yard is a wonderful way to bring movement, sound, and visual beauty to your yard. Even a small fountain can create instant relaxation in the backyard. Better still, fountains create a calming effect and often drown out nuisance noises such as traffic or noisy pets. Water is best placed in the north, east, or southeast corners of your yard. 3. Fire up your landscape with a fireplace or barbecue area. A wonderful place to add these is in the south sector of your garden. If this is in your back yard, all the better. If it is in the front yard, then add your fire element in the form of lighting. Add landscape lighting to trees or walkways, or install a lamp post. Lighting adds instant warmth and energy to any area. Fire or lighting is perfect in the south, southwest, and northeast corners of the yard. 4. Add a touch of Asia to your garden. Another popular design element in the garden nowadays is Asian design. Add Asian flavor by planting a clump of bamboo in the east sector of your garden or plot. Or, if you have a northeast or southwest area of your yard that needs attention, add an attractive Zen garden made of raked gravel with some strategically placed boulders. Asian design relies on the use of all the elements in a landscape and on their proper placement. 5. Give your garden some weight. Adding boulders is a wonderful addition to any garden or landscape and helps to anchor the landscape. Boulders are especially effective in the southwest, west,

and northeast. In the southwest, a collection of boulders with one boulder for each resident of the house is thought to create better relationships. 6. Bring movement to your yard or garden. Every yard needs some movement. Place a windmill or other spinning or twirling object to your yard to create movement and energy. Even outdoor flags flapping in the breeze create visual interest. Windmills and windchimes are wonderful in the west, northwest, and north corners of the yard. 7. Add sound to your outdoors. Windchimes or bells are perfect in the landscape because of their beautiful tinkling sound. For good feng shui, be sure to hang them on a shepherds crook rather than from a tree, where the metal energy is considered harmful to the tree. These are best when placed in the west, northwest, and north corners of the yard, where they are thought to benefit children and careers. 8. Put a touch of gold into your landscape. Select shrubs and plants with gold accents or flowers to plant near the center of the yard or in the north, northeast, or southwest. Gold is also considered a very auspicious and wealth-attracting color. Planted in these locations, they are believed to benefit career and relationships, respectively.