Emerson said that, “The earth laughs in flowers”. Years ago, I worked with an older colleague who was in a new relationship. When asked about his day, he talked about it being his girlfriend’s birthday. We asked him what he had given her and he replied that she said it didn’t matter about presents. From the looks on our faces he realised that he shouldn’t have taken her literally! We immediately suggested flowers and called a florist for him. The next day he told us cheerfully that the bouquet was received happily and he would ignore her response next time and he seemed very relieved. On that note, it is interesting that in previous ages, the language of flowers was really important and could be an answer to a question. A daisy sent was a message that a love was true, bluebells were for kindness and rosemary for remembrance. These days we have some cliches with red roses for Valentine’s Day but Feng Shui takes a different approach.
Positive & Negative Chi
Live plants and flowers are considered to be positive energy. Match the colours to the different sectors of the Bagua map. Even though I am not a fan of red, I still buy lovely cherry coloured roses for the Fame sector and pink peonies for the Relationship corner. It is recommended to Avoid sharp and spiky plants including the latest craze of cacti as they are seen as aggressive and often give off what are called poison arrows.
Feng Shui practice immediately says no to dried flowers and grasses as they represent death and they usually collect dust anyway. This includes twisted branches of wood, old flower pods or faded bouquets. Yes it is a country cottage look but not considered positive and dynamic energy.
Looking for an apartment to buy, we saw one place absolutely stuffed with plastic plants and flowers, another no-no. Just buy silk, cotton or linen flowers as they represent a natural product but ideally real plants are the answer. That being said, keep the plants healthy and clean. If they don’t look great, consider throwing them away and starting again. We have three plants that look healthy but I confess, I am not a natural gardener and thank them each time they are watered!
Tips
- Use filtered water to keep the flowers longer;
- If you have animals, particularly cats, don’t put the flower preservative in the water as they are likely to try to drink the water out of the vase;
- Normally, a third needs to be cut off the stems and measure against the vase;
- Ask the florist to arrange the flowers, even if it is just for yourself, it is their skill and they will often add pieces for free;
- And don’t forget to ‘say it with flowers’!
