Dordogne Advertiser
Home and Garden 21
www.dordogneadvertiser.com
September 2012
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Gardening Facts
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Prune your fruit trees once you have finished picking
Harvest time in the garden
Feng Shui your home THE ART of Feng Shui is thought to have originated in China thousands of years ago. Feng means wind and shui means water; in Chinese culture, these two elements are associated with good health and fortune. Andrew Laycock, who runs Feng Shui retreats in France says: “Feng Shui is all about promoting balance and harmony in your environment.” The foundation principles of Feng Shui are yin and yang, the five elements, the Bagua (a map which shows how energy moves within your home) and where your house is situated. “The first level is to create balance to ensure that your home is filled with positive energy. This includes creating
Thinking of a major redecoration of your house? The principles of Feng Shui could help you create a beautiful and relaxing living space, as REBECCA LAWN finds out an equal balance between yin energy and yang energy (dark, pale, quiet and light, bright, busy), ensuring the house is well maintained and in good repair, kept tidy and free of clutter and that the four seasons are equally represented in your home. “These are linked to the five elements so spring is represented by wood, summer by fire, autumn by metal and winter by water. The four are then balanced and grounded by earth,” Mr Laycock explains. “The second level of Photo: djama - Fotolia.com
Feng Shui is how you then enhance positive energy in your home in order to attract what you currently desire in your life.” Each area of the Bagua corresponds to an aspect of your life and is represented by different colours, numbers, elements and shapes. For example, the south-west corner of your home is linked to your relationship and is represented by earth, squares and rectangles, the number two and cream, brown and pink. The career area is to the north of your home, and is represented by dark blue, black, grey, freeform shapes, water and the number one. Mr Laycock says: “The numbers on the Bagua map link to the numbers of the Lo Shu Square. The Lo Shu square is an important mathematical principle in Chinese culture.” By using these numbers in certain areas of your home – for example placing nine can-
dles in the south, two crystals in the south west, three plants in the east – you will help strengthen the energy in that area of your home. To put the map into place, you align the bottom edge of the Bagua with the front door of your home. There are also a few simple changes you can make to enhance the energy in your home. For the living room, Mr Laycock advises pulling furniture away from the walls so that energy can flow around it. “Group furniture together so that people sitting down can focus on each other rather than something else in the room, such as a TV,” he adds. In the dining room, the table should ideally be round or oval-shaped as there is no clear head of the table and everyone can see everyone else. As for bedrooms, Mr Laycock adds that beds should be placed so that the occupants have a clear view of the door but their feet are not pointing at it (said to be the death position), nor are they at a right angle to the door as this can lead to a feeling of insecurity. Photo: sergey02 - Fotolia.com
SEPTEMBER is the month to liberate your inner hunter/gatherer. All this month’s fruits including apples, pears and apricots marry well with blackberries, and those stubbornly unripe specimens are ideal for chutney, as is quince. As well as picking fruit and nuts, this is also a good time to plant trees and take cuttings. Once you have finished picking, prune fruit trees. Geranium cuttings taken now and over-wintered somewhere frost-free will avoid the need for buying expensive plug plants next spring. And if you have gaps in your hedge, take cuttings of box, yew and holly now too. If you have ever fancied trying your hand at topiary, this is the month to start trimming that bush into an artistic shape. If your lawn went brown in August, it will be turning green again in September and this is a good month to give it some TLC and get it back in form for the winter. Fertilise it to boost growth, aerate it with a garden fork, and give it a good raking over to remove all the detritus of the summer. Keep raking to keep fallen leaves off the grass (they could encourage it to rot underneath). Re-sow any bare patches. Plant bulbs like daffodils, crocuses and hyacinths. Scatter them across the lawn and plant where they fall. To repair the edges, just cut the edge tile of turf out and turn it round. Then fill in the hole with compost and re-seed. In the vegetable garden harvest roots vegetables such as carrots and potatoes before the ground gets too wet. Leave parsnips until after the first frost, when they will taste sweeter. Sow broad beans and hardy peas for early cropping next year. Harvest the last of the green beans. Put a layer of hay or straw under your pumpkin if you are growing a big one for Halloween. Start forking over parts of the garden which have finished cropping for this year. Check that potted plants have not become root-bound over the winter. Weed them too and add mulch. To keep cats off containers and pots, mulch with the prickly sweet chestnut shells – shell and freeze enough chestnuts for stuffing the turkey at Christmas. Most plants can stay outside for another month, but keep a sharp eye on the weather forecast just in case. Hang sunflower heads up to start drying them out. Pot up herbs such as mint and chives so that you have fresh supplies through the autumn. Make sloe gin by rinsing the sloes (there is no need to prick them), putting them in a large glass jar so that they come half way up the side, pouring in supermarket gin to cover and then adding sugar so that you have a drift about three inches deep at the bottom of the jar. Leave in a cool dark place for three months, taste to see if more sugar is required, then strain and bottle. Do not crush the fruits when straining.
Different areas of your house respond to an aspect of your life and are represented by different colours and shapes
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Feng Shui is about balance and harmony – a mix of colours and keeping a well-maintained and clutter-free living space