Through the Garden Gate
You may find it surprising to know that your front path can reveal quite a lot about you, your personality and how you feel about life. It is the connection between your private world and the wider world. It also represents an invitation to visitors to step into your personal domaine. Does it appear welcoming, does it bring a smile to your face and a sparkle to your eyes? Or do you consider it to be simply a way to reach your house as quickly as possible from your front gate or garage?
A Revealing Case Study
A lovely couple their sixties, let’s call them Susan and John, asked me to visit their house. I knew very little about them before I went there, but the first thing I noticed when I arrived at their garden gate was that the top of the gate post had rotted and one of the digits of the house number was falling off. The hedge partially covered the post too.
To my observant Feng Shui eyes, these are metaphors that someone in the household may have a weak identity or lack self esteem. Or it could just be that they did not notice any issue, or they had not got round to repairing it yet, or that it did not bother them at all. Anyway, after spending a little time together getting to know each other, I began my appraisal at the gatepost and cautiously explained as objectively as possible what it might signify.
Susan gasped with astonishment. She immediately wanted to show me something in her study upstairs. There on her desk was a draft manuscript of the book she was writing, titled “Searching for my Self Identity”. She said it was something she had struggled with all her life! She wanted to set out her story, it was almost like a cathartic exploration to conquer and let go of the inner scenarios that had been undermining her self-assurance, worth and confidence till then. It absolutely amazed me. After all, although seemingly far-fetched, my observation turned out to be the most meaningful purpose of my visit.
More than Just the Gate
Not only the gate, but also hedges, fences and walls that mark the boundary of a property make a physical and metaphoric statement about safeguarding possessions, your security and personal reassurance. Any gaps, weaknesses or damage along there can mirror feelings of vulnerability. That may sound irrational, nevertheless it is actually meaningful. Our environment so often reveals what is going on in our life, an allegory with an underlying meaning as well as a literal appearance.
Another Case Study
I visited a lady who had recently become divorced and had bought a semi-detached house in a nice location and lived there with her teenage son. She worked in the front room as a massage therapist and all their living space was at the rear of the house.
This was another instance where the front garden told the story of the occupant before I’d even met her, although this time I did not realise it immediately. It had a dead straight path with a few ugly cracks in it. Climber rose entrails were overhanging the side fence and stretched across the path, making it feel like an obstacle course as I tried to avoid their thorns. Directly outside the front door were two large dustbins waiting to greet me - or to put me off - which seemed odd because there was ample space to put them at the side of the house, space wide enough for a garage.
It turned out that her distressing domestic experiences had taken their toll on her feelings and she had lost trust in people. She told me she was not interested in getting to know her neighbours and didn’t want them interfering with her. That was how she felt at the time. Later when I went into the back garden, I saw that several large pieces of old wood were piled up against the wall of the house. Then the 'penny dropped’ as it became apparent to me that she had unconsciously created a physical protective barrier around her house to protect herself from further emotional intrusion.
Action for Transformation
There is a simple way to transform your garden path that will energetically enhance your connection with your living environment at the same time. Creating a semi-circular flower bed halfway along a straight path, or more of them if you have a long pathway, will positively modify its form. Then instead of rushing head-on, the energy will flow more gently and calmly along the path to bring the uplifting vitality of the plants to your front door and inside your home. Small corner flower beds and planted containers will have a similarly desirable effect, particularly when they are near the gate and close to the house. Large pots are usually preferable to small ones, which tend to dry out quite quickly.
Choose plants that will give you back more than the effort it takes to maintain them, such as everyone’s favourite lavender and spring bulbs. Hardly anything is more cheerful in January than being greeted by drifts of snowdrops in flower while the winter weather is still with us. Select plants that flower at different times of the year and have foliage with different tones and textures, including some with evergreen leaves.
Supporting your Wellbeing
Are your garden boundary and front path nurtured or neglected, acknowledged or ignored? Hopefully this article will help you understand why their maintenance is a priority for reinforcing and supporting your wellbeing. But if you have difficulty to look after them by yourself, perhaps you know someone else who will give you a helping hand if you ask them.
With warm wishes
Sylvia
Sylvia Bennett
Accredited Feng Shui Master
Subtle Environment Practitioner
Architectural Design Consultant
+ 44 (0)7779 13918