Reprinted from The Austin Homesteader, 2002

We are moving into spring here in Austin, a marvel replete with vistas of beautiful wildflowers and butterflies.  If you’re new to Central Texas, what qualifies as Spring here are the few days between winter (75 degrees and below) and summer (100 degrees plus.)  It’s the time the spirit naturally moves toward planting things, and watching for new critters to emerge.  If “critter” is not a word you have added to your vocabulary, go ahead and do that now.  You’ll need to because there are lots of them around here, and they’re not shy.

Neophyte Gardner

I remember coming to back “home” to Austin from California.  Having  lived in Austin for twelve years prior a 9 month sailing adventure, then acclimating to the moderate climate of southern California, I  realized I was just a neophyte in terms of gardening upon returning. That’s because during those first twelve years in Austin we had lived  a little bungalow in Tarrytown where everything grew. It was near the river, had  nice acid soil, and in many ways was like Louisiana where I grew up. 

Even the roaches reminded me of Louisiana. Their presence had little to do with housekeeping, and everything to do with years of ivy growth, moisture, and trees.  The difference is these buggers can fly –  and read!  (You don’t believe it? Go ahead, pull out a can of Raid and watch them attack like a bomber pilot.)  I’m not trying to frighten you. It’s just comforting to know that roaches are not necessarily bad Feng Shui. It’s just the Shui it is near the river. 

In all those years, I never realized that that rich, fertile soil around our bungalow was actually an oasis in a sea of caliche. Until I moved back, the terms “caliche pick,” deer repellent, scorpions, etc. had never even been blips on my radar screen.

Wind and Water

We returned in May the year of the great Memorial Day flood of 1981.  Having lived for three years near the beach south of LA, where every day was clear and 75 degrees, I been luled into safety. There, I grew a bean stalk in a week. I was unprepared for the onslaught of critters and fickle Texas weather.  Feng Shui literally translated, means “wind” and “water.”  That year there was plenty of Shui (water) and it all came down in a few weeks.  Then there was good Feng (wind), followed by drought.  You get used to this – it’s part of the excitement of spring here.  And the deer, oh how adorable they were.  My first born turned one that year, making the little fawn that wandered onto our patio ever more enchanting.  Good Feng Shui. 

Creature Comforts

What could be closer to Nirvana?  I was looking forward to the creature comforts of being home, but not the creatures I was about to discover. The first night home, a scorpion fell out of the ceiling fan over the bed. As it warmed up, granddaddy longlegs drummed in unison under the shady eves of the house, and the fawn’s MAMA decimated the delicate plants I planted on the deck.  

It reminded me of what hardy stock the pioneers must have been – and this was BEFORE my discovery of the coveted caliche pick.  

To those of you unfamiliar with caliche, it’s a “technical” term for the type of “soil” in the hill country – lots of big limestone/fossil rocks bonded like cement with hard, alkaline, low nutrient smaller rocks.  This is not stuff you dig with a shovel.  A pick-ax or blasting caps work nicely, but a caliche pick is the weapon of choice.  It’s a 6 foot steel spike held vertically and allowed to drop from as high as you can lift it, thus breaking up the caliche by repeated poundings. 

The good news is that once you’ve created a pit in the caliche, there are quite a few drought loving, deer-resistant shrubs and trees that thrive in such a spot.  Yes, it helps if you trick the plants  into staying with an appetizer of nice rich dirt, but once they get a taste of caliche, they like it.   It’s an acquired taste. 

Dear Deer

So what’s this have to do with Feng Shui?  I’ll tell you.  Good Feng Shui is living in harmony with your environment. Here in central Texas it helps if you don’t force a “house beautiful” garden of roses and sweet tender-leafed “deer food.”   City dwellers living in the neighborhoods close to downtown, where the wildlife is not an issue, can sometimes do it. But you’ll need a good sense of humor and a supply of non-edible plants if you’re lucky enough to live in the hills, where the deer and the Road Runners roam,. I’ve spent a small fortune feeding the several herds, and I do love them.

Diet-food

From this experience I developed this short list of deer  “diet food,” meaning they’ll either eat it only as a last resort or not at all.

• A good rule of thumb is:  pinch the leaf and sniff.  If it has a pungent fragrance or odor  (like rosemary or Juniper), the deer don’t usually like it once it gets established.  (When first planted, deer are sometimes attracted to the minerals in the potting soil.)  Here is a partial list of plants I know dear-deer have not eaten: most junipers, except Blue Pacifica (very tender)Asian Jasmin,  Sage (last resort), Salvia, Primrose Jasmine, Pampas grass. Youpon, Rosemary (once established), most bulb plants, Red Honeysuckle, and both Green and Grey Santolina. 

• Another thing, don’t let thorns fool you, because they don’t fool the deer.  I’ve seen deer trim a 5 gallon pyracantha down to a mere image of it’s former self.  The trick?  Nibble down to the point that the thorns prick the nose.  Texture is less important, but fuzzy can be a turn off.    Fencing helps, but like Superman, they can graze tall buildings and 8-foot fences to get to something tasty.

Deterrents, Sort-of

Forget about trying perfume, human hair cuttings, bells, blood meal, etc to scare them off.  These hill country deer are savvy.  They know it’s a ploy, have plenty of people friends, and are generally unimpressed by your efforts.  If you’re thinking of feeding them because they’re cute, and besides, then they won’t eat your landscape…. think again.  First, feeding the deer upsets the natural balance of things. It causes them to forget how to forage, defeats natural selection, and hazardously lures them into high traffic areas.  Not good Feng Shui.  And when you’re gone or  fail to feed them, be prepared to have your yard stripped. 

The easiest and politically correct route, and one that honors the environment in which you live is to plant wisely. Leave yourself time to enjoy your yard, the deer and weekend drives to see the wildflowers.  The money you save from not having to re-landscape can fund that deck you’ve always wanted, another tree, or wildlife photography gear!

The post From Flying Roaches to Cute Little Deer, Good Feng Shui is About Living in Harmony with Your Environment appeared first on Nancy Wesson Consulting.

Reprinted from The Austin Homesteader, 2001

The image to the left is a ZEN Garden, NOT a Feng Shui Garden.

When folks ask me about Feng Shui and gardening, there seems to be some confusion about them being Zen gardens. The two couldn’t be more different. A Zen garden is very – well Zen! When I think of a Zen garden – it’s sparse with open space and lots of sand or rock with a few larger rocks. Designed for clearing the mind of everything extraneous, visual stimulation is at a minimum. Beautiful and serene with little to stimulate the senses.

Feng Shui Gardens are Not Zen

However, the image below IS a Feng Shui Garden. Feng Shui gardens, on the other hand meander – with winding trails, plants, rocks, statuary if you like, benches – always a little gift around every bend. There are little pockets of refuge and privacy mixed with vistas – all brought together in a balanced elemental flow. In five-element terms it means you have Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal represented in ways that strike your fancy and honor the natural habitat.

Notice the variation in color and texture of the plants; the presence and placement of various sculptures and objects of art – even an arch. There are varying heights to let the eyes play. Chances are, walking through this garden would offer more surprises, maybe a bench or an even a meditation spot. In all likelihood there’s a fountain or a pond tucked in somewhere as well. It tickles the senses.

Orienting Your Garden

When you’re orienting your garden, remember that the garden Bagua can start in the front yard and include the entire property or start at the back door and include only the back yard. You can start your garden anywhere on the property and pick an entry point, which functions as the “front door” to your garden. I really would not get too hung up on that. People tend to get a little anxious about the specifics and that is completely contrary to the point of a Feng Shui space. For me, the most important aspects are balance and the use of symbolism, to create a space that embraces you with a mix of life, movement, sound, fragrance, color, and texture. All of this should be consistent with the environment in which you are creating the garden.

So – if you’re in Phoenix, trying to create a garden using tropical plants that need frequent irrigation – necessitating constant care or an additionally installed watering system – is not Feng Shui. Similarly, if you’re in Louisiana and trying to do Xeroscape – with plants that need little or no water – well good luck! Honor the territory you happen to be in.

But Can I Use Cacti?

A lot has been made in Feng Shui about the use of cacti and sharp, pointed sword like plants. They are typically considered rather relationship hostile and non- welcoming for obvious reasons. But if you live in an arid climate, you use plants that are in harmony with that place – and sometimes that’s cactus. Just use a little common sense. Another place to use a liberal dose of common sense is the use of color.

Any of you who know about Feng Shui are aware that each of the elements has a series of colors associated with it. In this context people are always asking, do I need red flowers here, blue flowers there? Here’s the deal – you first have to consider the issues you would look at in ANY healthy garden. Think about the elements of sun, water, wind, shade, soil conditions, etc and first choose plants that will thrive (or at least tolerate) the present conditions. Then look at texture, shape of the plant, size and shape of the leaf, and finally color. Your life will be so much easier and your gardening experience will be more pleasurable.

Any of you who know about Feng Shui are aware that each of the elements has a series of colors associated with it. In this context people are always asking, do I need red flowers here, blue flowers there? Here’s the deal – you first have to consider the issues you would look at in ANY healthy garden. Think about the elements of sun, water, wind, shade, soil conditions, etc and first choose plants that will thrive (or at least tolerate) the present conditions. Then look at texture, shape of the plant, size and shape of the leaf, and finally color. Your life will be so much easier and your gardening experience will be more pleasurable.

Using the Five Elements

Here are a few suggestions to help you make choices that relate to the five elements (water, wood, fire, earth, metal). Remember that these can come in the form of vegetation, sound, color, texture or garden accessories including rock formations, sculptures, water features, path ways, etc.

The variations are endless. Items can also be more than one element at a time. Choose the most predominant aspect and have fun! This is a time to engage ALL of your senses!

• Water: water itself, water features, broad leaf floppy or draping plants, shady/cool areas, amorphous shapes. Ponds should have a way for critters like frogs to climb out after they hopped in. Drowned frogs are not good Feng Shui.

• Wood: all living plants fall into the wood category. That said, wood shapes are more columnar or cylindrical, upright and tree like. Color is also an aspect, and the color for wood is green, not brown.
• Fire: sharp pointy leaf plants, the color red, sculptures that are angular or pointy, suns, brightly glazed tiles, shiny or bright colors. Any fanciful whimsical art work or mobiles, plastic planters also qualify as fire. Fire is FUN!
• Earth: flowers, terra cotta pots, heavy objects or sculptures, Mexican-clay tile, earth-colors, square/blocky shapes, soft comfy cushions, boulders, etc. Herbs or plants that are fragranced when you brush against them (mint, thyme, santolina, etc) earthen ware planters also qualify.
• Metal: plants that are rounded or globe like in shape. Obviously metal itself, or smooth surface sculptures, elegant fixtures, soft pastel colors, the sound of metal clinking.

Benches

Let’s talk about benches or meditation areas. Any area where you sit should have some feeling of protection behind it, so you feel comfortable and secure. Remember the concept of arm-chair shape – with support all around you – looking forward into a more open space. This can be accomplished with a hedge, a tree, wood lattice privacy screen or a stone wall. Paths, edging and outlines of beds should be curved and feel natural or meandering. Ever notice there are no straight lines in nature? Follow that lead.

Keep it Curvy!

In Hong Kong, even the straightest walkway is designed to look curved through the use of brick layout, plantings or shadows falling across the walk. Let your creativity soar, your fantasy life come alive! Feng Shui begs you to use ALL of your senses to celebrate life and create beauty with what you have on hand.

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