“In today’s stressful society we are looking Stepping into the garden is a wonderful with well-planned flowering plants place, but contributes considerably to at ways to improve the quality of our lives. way to relax and restore inner peace. A house not only enhances the aesthetic beauty of the considerably to our environment.”
Vaastu Shastra is an environmental science written about 7,000-10,000 years ago in India by men of great wisdom known as rishis. They observed the workings of Nature and recorded how different rays of the sun, the magnetic poles, make-up of the land, soil, slope, and structures affected all living things. It is the oldest recorded architectural treatise known to man and it is from this science that some of the world’s most enduring structures have been created.
A well-tended and designed garden using the principles of Vaastu Shastra will benefit you and the members of your family for years to come. By reconnecting with the intrinsic balance within Nature using basic Vaastu principles, you will experience better health, improved relationships, and enjoy an enhanced sense of well-being.
Vaastu principles apply not only to the concrete structure of the house and to interior contents, but also to the environment outside and the plants and gardens surrounding your home. There is a deep bonding between man and Nature. Nature in the form of trees and plants, and water bodies like fountains, ponds and waterfalls can be incorporated in our environment to remain connected to the natural world. A pleasing garden adds to the vital prana and positive vibration in our environment. A subtle blend of design, shape, color, appropriate plants and water bodies can enhance the positive vibrations in and around one’s home.
Offices, homesteads, multi-storied buildings, housing complexes, hospitals, libraries, schools and college buildings and their surrounding places should be decorated with a garden to make the place attractive, and at the same time it balances the environment as well. The garden should be created at the Northeast side of the house. The garden should be full of flowering trees and other decorative plants.
Flower pots should not be kept on the wall of the building in the North, East or Northeast as this would result in blockage of light and air from these directions. The water source or tap in the garden should be in the Northeast direction. Levels of the South and West portions of the garden should be higher than the other portions. The center of the garden should not be raised nor have a depression.
Tulsi and other medicinal plants should be planted in the Northeast side. Trees which have big leaves should be planted in the Southwest side and the fruit trees should be planted in the middle of these two.
It is not good to plant a big tree in front of the main entrance of the house as it creates an obstruction in front of the door. The trees which produce white gum like rubber tree, cacti etc. are inauspicious. Trees with thorns, like cactus, should also be avoided, though the rose bush is an exception. Decorative plants or flowering trees can be placed on the boundary wall. The houses by the side of a big road should have Neem and Ashoka trees. Neem protects from pollution and insects, and the Ashoka tree protects from noise pollution.
Each home has a boundary wall. Trees should be planted to make the boundary wall strong according to ancient scriptures. Not only that, large stones should also be placed around the trees.
According to the science of Vaastu Shastra, all five elements (earth, water, fire, air and space) need to be in harmony. When a seed is planted, it requires all the five elements to be balanced for it to germinate, sprout and become a strong, healthy plant. The disproportion of any element – whether it is the quality of the earth (soil ph), the amount and quality of water, wind (air), sun (fire), or the amount of space in which it is planted – has the power to inhibit its growth. In this way a wise gardener sets up a balanced environment for his plants to grow free from disease and stress.
“A subtle blend of design, shape, color, appropriate plants and water bodies can enhance the positive vibrations in and around one’s home.”
Each area of your garden is associated with one of the five elements. The earth element is associated with the Southwest area, providing a sustaining and grounding force for the garden. In the Northeast, the nourishing water element enhances growth. The fire element in the Southeast supports healthy, disease-free plants. The Northwest is related to the air element, encouraging cross-pollination for new growth in the garden. The space element is associated with the central area of your garden, enhancing the flow of beneficial influences that nourish the other elements.
“It is not good to plant a big tree in front of the main entrance of the house as it creates an obstruction in front of the door.”
Here are suggestions to bring the five elements into balance in your garden:
- Build up the Southwest area of your garden to produce the stabilizing force of the earth element. You can do this with a rock garden, tall trees, and even a stone statue. This area is extremely helpful in collecting and holding the positive solar and magnetic energies coming from the East and North. Since yellow is the color associated with the Southwest, choose daffodils, roses, or wisteria as color accents in this area. The Southwest is also a good place for storage.
- Represent the water element in the Northeast by adding a fountain, pool, or pond, so this beneficial energy will be reflected throughout your garden. Use low plantings in the Northeast that will not block the lifeenhancing ultraviolet rays coming from this direction. Plant herbs, white pansies, or geraniums as color highlights in this direction.
- Add a barbeque or a fire place in the Southeast area of your garden to enliven the fire element. The color “red” is related to this direction, so plant tulips, geraniums, roses and dahlias in the Southeast to enliven this element.
- Wind chimes, a play area with a swing set, or a compost pile will balance the air element in the Northwest. Blue is the color connected to this area, so plant bluebells, forget-me-nots and iris to enhance the influences coming from this direction.
- Represent the space element by an open patio area in the center of your garden where you can sit and commune with nature.
Keep your garden neat and tidy by pulling out weeds and removing dead plants. Doing so, you will support the balance of the five elements and attract the positive influences inherent in each of the five directions.
Gardens must not have fountains in the center. A swimming pool in the center, towards the South, Southeast or Southwest and even the Northwest creates undue events. It leads to loss of health and wealth of the residents. A swimming pool/ fountain is favorable in the Northeast, North, East or even in the West.
Huge, heavy statues or other exhibits are favorable towards the Southwest, South or the West. There is no harm if pets or birds’ nests are in the Northwest corner.
“The garden should be created at the Northeast side of the house. The garden should be full of flowering trees and other decorative plants.”
Useful Tips
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- Big trees should be avoided in the space surrounding the building and inside the boundary wall. The roots of big trees can damage the base of the wall compound and the building.
- If there are trees around the building, they should not be tall or have thick leaves and should not be placed in the East or the North direction. The auspicious sun rays are blocked by them. There is no objection to such trees in the West and the South direction. However, such big trees should not be only in the West or in the South direction, but in both directions. The heavy weight of the trees otherwise spoils the balance of the building.
- Useful trees of 3 to 5 feet height can be in the East and North directions. There should be no tree of any kind, big, small, useful or otherwise in the Northeast corner
- No plant brought from a temple, bank of a river, stolen from any place or given by a person whom you dislike, should be planted in your plot. Saplings bought from a nursery should be planted.
- Banana, Papaya, Mango, Pineapple, Lemon Nilgiri, Ashoka or Jamun trees etc. should not be in the East or the North direction of the building. Paucity of funds and children is experienced.
- No creepers, however beautiful, with flowers should be raised on the compound wall of the building in the East or the North directions. Creepers can be planted only in the garden. There is no harm in having a money plant in the house. However, it should not be planted outside the house with the support of a tree.
- Any big or small, proper or improper, tree should not 33 be planted in front of the main entrance of the building in any direction.
