Writen by Don Doman
By accident I was fortunate enough to hear a talk about Feng Shui and gardens by author Gaylah Balter. There was more information than I could possibly assimilate, but since her advice and comments coincided with what I knew about Taoism and had seen on recent nature channel broadcasts I became immediately hooked.
Gaylah Balter, author of Gardening With Soul, was inspirational. Although there were less than ten people in the lecturer's tent set up for more than a hundred at the Pt. Defiance Flower and Garden Show, and despite the fact that Gaylah was recovering from a prolonged illness and recovery, her eyes sparkled when she talked.
Her revelations spoke louder than her whisper. A garden can be so much more than just a collection of plants, bushes, and shrubs. It can enrich your spirit and nurture your soul in many ways that delight the imagination. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement. The goal of Feng Shui is to achieve harmony, comfort, and balance, first in our environment and then in our life.
Gaylah says, "A garden can affect our physical well-being in many ways and on many levels. We can relieve stress, tension, and anxiety as the garden helps to restore balance and harmony to our busy lives, through hard physical labor and being outdoors and communing effortlessly with Nature and all her bounty." She handed out information paraphrasing as she went along, but was passing over a paragraph about emotions and senses.
In the relaxed atmosphere I interrupted and asked a question, "Are you talking about wind chimes, colors, and water fountains?" "Yes," she replied, "and textures." My mind raced ahead. In a moment of enlightenment I saw images of the Portland Classical Chinese Garden combined with a cable television program on zoo animals.
On two separate occasions I have visited the Portland Classical Chinese Garden and loved it both times. The walkways and common areas feature a rich mosaic of shaped stones. Beautiful courtyards appear that you can only see through foliage. Everywhere you are amazed by smells, colors, and sounds. You are whisked away to a garden a million miles away, and yet you're in downtown Portland just two blocks away from the Amtrak train station.
Amazement with the environment is something new to zoo keepers. I've seen a nature show on zoos where the animals are allowed to find hidden treats: frozen fruit cocktails placed randomly and honey smeared tree stubs. The zoo workers play a kind of hide-and-seek with animal treats. The animals respond with joy.
"Modern animal caregivers try to provide behaviorally appropriate environments including interesting objects to explore, suitable social companions, and room and reason to exercise. Enrichment of the environment has become a zoo staff specialty in itself, especially for the more social and intelligent species such as elephants, canids (wolves) and primates."
-- Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies
We don't have a lot of money to spend for our garden, but after listening to Gaylah Balter, we have put some extra time in the development of our deck and garden areas. We have objects of found art and beauty scattered around in interesting places. We have a combination of smooth and textured pots. We are arriving at a nice relaxing harmony of random beauty. We haven't finished, yet . . . but at least we know the way.
Don Doman is a published author, video producer, and corporate trainer. He owns the business training site Ideas and Training (http://www.ideasandtraining.com), which he says is the home of the no-hassle "free preview" for business training videos. He also owns Simple Home Repair (http://www.simplehomerepair.com), which has great DIY ideas for the home and garden.
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