Bamboo | Bonsai | Feng Shui

VeryGoodBuys

Feng Shui Books

Feng Shui Videos

Bamboo & Feng Shui

Lucky Bamboo

Feng Shui & Water

Lucky Bamboo

Fresh Flowers

Gardening - color

Bulbs Perennials

Bonsai - Bamboo

Roses - tree, bush

Shrubs - Annuals

Trees

of the most highly evolved forest grasses. There are over 1200 forms of bamboo that grow in a broad spectrum of color including the familiar green and gold as well as burgundy, blue and even black grasses. Some varieties of bamboo can grow up to a foot a day and ultimately reach 130 feet tall

River Rock Bamboo

The bamboo is a symbol of long life, strength and versatility for many cultures of the world. Unraveling its mysteries is a continuing source of enjoyment. When you know how to grow bamboo, you'll find that your love for the plant grows as fast as your bamboo does!

Feng Shui Kit

Feng Shui and Water Features - Danielle Dickinson

Feng Shui (translated literally means wind and water), dating back over 5000 years, is the ancient Chinese art of positioning objects for harmony and balance in the environment. Water plays an important part in this traditional belief. Water is equated with the flow of Chi which is the energy or life force of the universe, believed to be present in all living things. Where Chi flows freely and accumulates there is health, abundance and prosperity. Where Chi stagnates there is illness and decay.

The positive flow of Chi is vital to a garden and its movement throughout should be free and uninhibited. Barriers to Chi must be removed and in cases where this is impracticable Feng Shui cures can be employed to allow for the smooth flow if Chi. On the flip side Chi flowing too fast through a garden is just as unsettling.

Water can be used to slow down or speed up the flow of this powerful life force and can be introduced to your garden via a pond, fountain, water feature or waterfall.

Learn to Grow Bamboo by Hans Dekker

Bamboo is a mysterious and elusive plant that baffles taxonomists who try to contain it within a botanical class and gardeners who try to contain it within a limited garden space as they learn how to grow bamboo. For many years, bamboo was thought to be a primitive grass but recent DNA testing has shown it to be one

while the smallest bamboo cultivar attains only six inches of growth.The first step in learning how to grow bamboo is picking a cultivar and beginning to unravel its many mysteries. While most of us picture tall stands of green and golden canes growing in tropical bamboo forests, bamboo cultivars range from the temperate to the tropical. As well as diversity in cultivar, bamboo has over 1500 documented uses that range from use in construction to the making of acupuncture needles and from agricultural fodder to the making of musical instruments. Until they are cut, bamboos stems are properly called culms and not canes. In India bamboo plants are commonly called the "Wood of the poor" and in China the" friend of the people". To add to the confusion, a cultivar commonly sold as "lucky bamboo" isn't bamboo at all but a type of lily from the Dracaena family!

Unluckily for bamboo, it has the reputation for being an invasive plant, growing from running rhizomes. Although this is true for some cultivars, the most cold-hardy plants don't run at all, but grow from well-behaved clumps with well-established root systems. One thing that bamboo cultivars do have in common is that they are perennial plants. As noted above, some bamboos varieties are temperate and some are tropical. Because its diversity, it's easy to find a suitable cultivar when you want to learn how to grow bamboo. Bamboo cultivars range from those that grow indoors to outdoors, in a garden or in a container,

in bright light or shade.

Two considerations in knowing how to grow bamboo successfully are water and air. All true bamboos are grasses and won't grow in saturated soils. They also need air circulation to thrive. In fact, some bamboo growers raise the pots of their small cultivars on chopsticks to provide air circulation under the plant as well as around it. Large pots are often elevated with heavy dowels.

Learn to Grow Bamboo continued . . .

There are a few simple principles to follow when establishing a water feature in your garden:

• The best position for a water feature is in the north, east or south east corners of the garden. This is likely to bring wealth and prosperity.

• The water should flow toward the house facing the main entrance or a large window to invite Chi into your home. This is not necessary where a water feature has an even flow of water over all sides. The direction of the water flow should never flow away from you home.

• Where a waterfall is used the flow of water must be considered. To strong will be destructive to the Chi and too gentle will do nothing.

• A water feature must be proportionate to the garden. Too small will symbolize a lack of abundance and too large may be too powerful for your home.

• Remove clutter such as debris and dead plants / foliage from your garden. This will inhibit the flow of Chi.

• It is important to maintain your water feature properly, avoiding build ups of algae, dead leaf matter and unsightly slime. Water needs to remain moving, clean and fresh to harness the Chi.

• Check your feature regularly for cracks and leaks which allow the Chi to escape.

• Introduce goldfish to your water feature to encourage wealth.

• Where water is lost through evaporation remember to top up your water feature to replenish the Chi.

Adding a water feature to your garden need not be expensive or difficult. A simple ready made water feature can be installed in preference to a grand, expensive water feature. Far better to have a simple feature that is easy to maintain rather than a huge pond and waterfall set-up that may prove time too consuming for today's busy person.

Lucky Bamboo

8 to 12 inches tall; Chinese red container

Dracaena plant that resembles bamboo; indoor

In China, tree is believed to bring good fortune

Used in Feng Shui to improve positive energy in a room

Easy to grow; thrives in all light conditions

How to Build a Waterfall or Pond

Feng Shui Do's & Don'ts

To master the fundamentals of Feng Shui the ancient Asian practice of improving the flow of energy, or chi, through the careful placement of specific items in the home, office, and garden look no further than our no-nonsense kit. It includes a potted lucky bamboo plant, a scented elemental votive candle, and Feng Shui Do's amp; Taboos, a handy guide that boasts more than 400 tips on how to improve your career, health, and relationships with the art of Feng Shui! This is the perfect gift to celebrate a new house, new job, or any occasion where a little more positive energy would be appreciated.