Arrangement and design of a winter garden with Feng Shui elements

If we turn to the ancient Chinese art of living in harmony with nature — Feng Shui, it recommends choosing a center, or "heart," for the winter garden, the main purpose of which is to breathe a soul into the winter garden. This could be a prominent plant or a sculpture. Also, according to Feng Shui experts, the center should be in fiery colors — red, brick, scarlet. The color red gives strength and warms both soul and body. You can use swaying objects — for example, kinetic sculpture. We warm up when we move and see moving objects; this provides energy.

To mark the boundaries of the garden, you can use:

• stones;
• solar lamps;
• logs.

It is recommended to plant various types of juniper, dogwood, oriental thuja, etc., along the edges. Furthermore, the ancient art states that you should not leave withered or dead plants, dry stems, or yellowed leaves in the garden. All of this carries unfavorable energy. Your garden should bring you joy and pleasure. Of course, before planting crops and beginning their care, it is necessary to consult with specialists.

It is advisable to take care of designing the winter garden in advance. If the structure is to be attached to the house, the design must be developed together with the house project. If the winter garden is a separate structure, its design should be developed together with the landscape project. When starting to develop the project for the future structure, it is necessary to decide how the winter garden will be used: whether it will be a terrace, a gym, or a pool. The functionality of the future building influences many things (for example, which side of the world to build the garden on). Before designing, it is necessary to create a computer model of the garden mapped to the existing building.

You must know that winter gardens can be heated or unheated. A winter garden built inside a residential space requires less heating than an attached one. Ventilation for a winter garden is needed to reduce humidity inside the room.

The cost of a winter garden depends on the following factors:

• profile material;
• type of glazing;
• dimensions of the room.

Heat-insulating material must not be used between the garden and the adjacent structure. There is no single "recipe" for constructing winter gardens. Each project is individual and depends on the intended purpose, the location of the house, the owner's financial means, and their imagination.

Furniture in the winter garden should be made of plastic, but under no circumstances from chipboard (fiberboard), and especially not polished furniture. The best thing you can come up with for the room's interior is wicker furniture. But the first and most important condition is that the room must be provided with a constant, regulated microclimate. This means that temperature, humidity, air circulation, and light flow ensure optimal conditions for the growth and development of vegetation in the winter garden. Especially if there is a mini-pond in the room. In this case, increased humidity inevitably arises, and a regulated ventilation system will be required. In addition, an air conditioner and a heating system are mandatory.

Regulation of the light flow through transparent walls is provided by the presence of blinds. Plant compositions must be arranged in such a way as to ensure free access to the blinds along the entire perimeter of the walls. If the installation of structures for vertical landscaping is planned, access to the blinds must also be maintained.

Incorporating mini-sculptures, statues, decorative fountains, and industrial-made mini-waterfalls into the winter garden design, combined with artificial vegetation, creates an exquisite antique background and a refinement of the overall ensemble.

Plants that are very sensitive to the effects of direct sunlight should be located in the shade of more light-loving ones. How to carry out the selection of plants for the winter garden? It

= 2 Ze, > a MAO VU and "U Ya ti 3; 7 ree. (IC u I, Ir u ai: i = № NY Y OA < ADA | ee = I! A K I em I \ AE Ch Re PA UE o | 3 AA AI Wicker furniture — the best option for a winter garden will depend entirely on what temperature (its lower limit) you will be able to ensure during the winter period. Tropical plants from America, Asia, and Africa assume that the air temperature will be no lower than 18-24 °C. If these are plants not from the tropical belt of Asia and Africa, a constant temperature in the range of 13-18 °C is sufficient for them. The same applies to evergreen subtropical plants of Janonia, China, and New Zealand. The same temperature will also be optimal for desert plants of Africa and America.

A list of all these plants can be found in specialized literature, but it will be useful to briefly list the main ones.

Tropical plants of Africa and Asia: Ficus lyrata, Asparagus plumosus, Piper longum, Thunbergia grandiflora, Davallia fejeensis, Pellaea viridis, Alocasia, Dracaena sanderiana, Begonia goegoensis, Cyperus alternifolius (for mini-ponds).

» Plants of the humid tropics of America: Anthurium scandens, Philodendron scandens, Billbergia magnifica, Vriesea splendens, Browallia speciosa, Columnea gloriosa, Aeschynanthus speciosus, Anthurium magnificum, Anthurium crystallinum, Dieffenbachia maculata, Dieffenbachia seguine, Calathea zebrina, Calathea ornata, Begonia manicata, Peperomia argyreia, Callisia elegans, Saururus cernuus (for mini-ponds).

When designing a winter garden, it is important to remember that the laws of Feng Shui must work in harmony with the laws of plant biology. One should not combine species with opposite requirements for soil moisture, air humidity, and temperature in the same zone. To optimize care and prevent crop loss, group plantings according to their natural geographical origin.

Plant selection by winter garden climate zones

To create harmonious compositions and simplify the adjustment of irrigation systems, divide the winter garden area into three climate zones. In each zone, use plants with similar ecological requirements for irrigation and lighting. This approach will allow you to create an optimal microclimate for each group and simplify the agronomist's work in plant protection and plant nutrition.

The first climate zone combines non-tropical species from Asia and Africa. These plants require moderate air humidity and a stable temperature regime. The following list of crops is suitable for this zone:

• Aucuba himalaica
• Pilea platanoides
• Cupressus cashmeriana
• Coffea arabica
• Dracaena fragrans
• Asparagus asparagoides
• Asparagus densiflorus
• Hoya carnosa
• Ficus montana
• Aglaonema commutatum
• Dieffenbachia picta
• Begonia rex
• Strelitzia reginae
• Curculigo capitulata
• Pteris longifolia
• Hedera helix

The second climate zone is intended for subtropical plants of Japan, China, and New Zealand. In the winter period, these crops require a temperature drop and moderate irrigation. The agronomist must provide for the possibility of local ventilation for this group of plants:

• Aucuba japonica
• Euonymus japonicus
• Hibiscus
• Camellia japonica
• Livistona chinensis
• Nandina domestica
• Fatsia japonica
• Lonicera japonica
• Lygodium japonicum
• Ficus pumila
• Azalea
• Aspidistra elatior
• Woodwardia radicans
• Rohdea japonica
• Acorus gramineus
• Ophiopogon japonicus
• Reineckia carnea
• Araucaria heterophylla
• Griselinia littoralis
• Cordyline australis
• Schefflera actinophylla
• Muehlenbeckia complexa
• Asplenium bulbiferum
• Pellaea rotundifolia
• Dianella caerulea
• Plectranthus australis
• Houttuynia cordata (for mini-ponds)

The third climate zone is reserved for the desert flora of Africa and America. These plants need to be provided with maximum lighting and minimal irrigation, especially in the winter period. For landscaping this zone, choose the following drought-tolerant crops:

• Aloe ciliaris
• Aloe marlothii
• Portulacaria afra
• Euphorbia grandicornis
• Euphorbia globosa
• Oscularia deltoides
• Agapanthus umbellatus
• Gasteria verrucosa
• Kalanchoe beharensis
• Crassula lycopodioides
• Sedum dasyphyllum
• Opuntia leucotricha
• Myrtillocactus geometrizans
• Cereus peruvianus
• Agave attenuata
• Yucca gloriosa
• Agave americana
• Pereskia aculeata
• Aporocactus flagelliformis
• Sedum morganianum
• Mammillaria bocasana
• Echeveria elegans
• Mammillaria gracilis
• Sedum spurium
• Dyckia brevifolia
• Echeveria agavoides