This book combines the world's most popular hobby with Feng Shui, the Chinese art of placement. The authors demonstrate that by employing the principles of Feng Shui to a garden space, the optimum benefit can be attained. Suggestions are included for creating six popular types of gardens. Full-color illustrations.
California's history is rich with Chinese culture. Growing up here you'll learn a thing or two about feng shui but usually in as it relates to architecture and home decorating. I did know about the importance of water and wind chimes for movement and sound to soften up an area from my father who takes gardening seriously but until reading Feng Shui in Your Garden by Roni Jay, that's all I knew.
Feng Shui in Your Garden by British author Roni Jay looks only at how feng shui and the directing of ch'i in the garden can improve one's well being on a number of fronts. This short but beautiful photographically illustrated book has three main sections: principles of feng shui, general garden shapes and features, and types of gardens. Each chapter in these sections addresses specific pieces of feng shui to use when designing or redesigning a garden.
One of big points of the book is the dividing up of the garden into the eight compass points, each of which represent a different aspect of ch'i influence on life. I thought briefly about doing a chart for my own tiny patio garden but frankly there's all of about twenty square feet of it and not much wiggle room. Since I'm not a serious follower or believer in the magical or spiritual aspects of feng shui, I decided to give the exercises in the book a pass.
From a stylistic point of view, though, I enjoyed the suggestions and made some notes for future improvements for my garden. Again, though, this book will work best for people who have actual gardens (with dirt and trees and land) and not a tiny row of pots on a patio during a drought (my current situation).
See my other reviews on Feng Shui books. I do plan to read this so I can see if it holds up to the standard or has at least some of the Classical Feng Shui concepts incorporated.