TABLE OF CONTENTS Although a discussion of plants and landscaping from the Feng Shui perspective deserves a book of its own, we feel it is appropriate to raise some landscape issues related to project design. Your client may ask for everything from landscaping an entrance area to creating a front yard, a side yard, a backyard, a meditation garden, a pool area, a play area, a classical garden, an English garden, or a Japanese garden. We have even worked with people on situating labyrinths, on locating burial sites, and on creating landscaped areas that paid homage to deceased children or friends, their ancestors, or their predecessors on the land, such as the Indians who came before them.
The plant world is a very large and important part of our planet. We often lose sight of the fact that the plant kingdom is much larger than the human community. When nature is left alone, there is a natural cycle of generation, destruction, and regeneration that supports our human existence in many ways. The Western medical profession is increasingly joining other cultures in using nature as a healing tool. When we build our physical spaces, we frequently replace nature with man-made structures. In the world of Feng Shui, we often introduce plants to help restore a natural balance to our environments. This may involve adding trees, shrubs, or other vegetation to the property around our structures or using plants or flowers in our spaces to bring the energy of nature indoors.
