Feng Shui your Office with Plants for Prosperity, Health and Harmony

There’s no doubt there is something magical about adding greenery to your indoor space: it’s a very tangible feeling. Take your office for example. You may fit it out with beautiful furniture and hang stunning pieces of artwork on the walls.  But it’s not until you add indoor plants to your space that the feeling shifts at a visceral level for those who work or visit there. A certain ambience is created. And if you use the right plants in the right way, that ambience is amplified and even channelled.

It is this tangible feeling that’s at the heart of the age-old Asian concept of Feng Shui. It is the art of arranging our environment to promote proper flow of chi which is in turn beneficial to people. And yes, it includes methods of arranging the aforementioned lovely furniture and art pieces about which a huge body of knowledge exists. But here, we’ll focus on the use of indoor plants which are especially beneficial in your workplace from a Feng Shui perspective. Because if you were thinking of getting plants for the office regardless, aside from the aesthetic appeal, by making choices according to Feng Shui principles, you could help your business prosper, and increase health and harmony among colleagues. And yes, you can select certain plants (and put them in certain pivotal places) which amplify these intentions.

But first, a little about where to place the plants. In Feng Shui, there is an energy map called a Bagua which divides a building into nine parts or energy centres representing important areas of life. They are the four cardinal directions (north, west, south, east), the four points between the cardinal directions (such as northeast, southwest, etc.) as well as the centre. Each of these are linked to various elements: water, earth, wood, heart, metal and fire. Some of the elements—wood, earth and metal—are linked to two parts (or energy centres). The wood element is the one that is linked to health and wealth. 

Because Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, the east is linked to health (wood element) and northwest is linked to wealth (also a wood element). This gives you a great indication of where to put plants within your office to really amplify the intention behind the attributes you would like to attract and retain.

The Top 5 Feng Shui Plants for Prosperity, Health and Harmony

 

1. Money Plant

Also called the Jade Plant. Place it in the northwest part of your office or at the entrance to draw in money energy. Although this succulent plant is low maintenance and grows quite easily, it must be still maintained so it doesn’t dry and wither by being kept out of direct sunlight and watered sometimes. It is thought that the greener and leafier the plant, the more money it attracts as the leaves themselves resemble coins. New business owners traditionally received it as a good-luck gift.

 

2. Lucky Bamboo Plant

This plant brings health, prosperity and luck and can be placed in either the east (health-related) or northeast (wealth-related) part of your office. It too is characterised by an odd number of stalks, and the more the better: three stalks represent longevity, happiness and wealth; five represent wealth; seven represent good health; nine stalks represent good luck; or for a super-powerful blessing in all these areas, get a 21-stalk plant. Given it doesn’t like too much sunlight and fares well in a cool climate, the Lucky Bamboo Plant is an ideal plant for air-conditioned offices. Just keep it in a pot with stones and water, and change the water regularly.

 

3. Rubber Plant

Like the Money Plant, the Rubber Plant is mostly associated with money and is best placed in the northwest (wealth) corner of a building. Its attractive big round leaves not only symbolise wealth but are great at removing indoor toxins, so of course, contribute to better air quality and health too. It’s very well suited to offices because it grows well with limited sunlight in cool temperatures.

 

4. Palm trees

Here’s good news for Brisbanites, who likely already have a few of the ubiquitous palms in their offices. From a Feng Shui perspective, these beauties attract, activate and radiate positive energy and remedy spaces where the chi flow is stuck or missing. Think of them as that vibrant friend around whom you feel energised.

 

5. Peace Lilly

Not only is this one of the best indoor air purifying plants, the Peace Lily, with its graceful white leaves promotes mental and physical balance and gives strong protective vibrations. Place it in the health corner (the east) and nearby to your electrical equipment such as computers and printers to help reduce the effects of positive ions. As its name suggests, it helps to harmonise the atmosphere, which in turn encourages colleagues to get along with each other.

 

And while all these are relatively low maintenance, they must not be entirely neglected because withered, sick or dying plants have the opposite effect on health, wealth and harmony. That means someone should be nominated to regularly care for your plants. If office life is too hectic and all-consuming for somebody to purchase, place and care for your plants, you may want to consider the services of an office plant hire company to do this for you. 

We hope this helps you understand the basics of Feng Shui as it relates to office plants and gets you inspired to get some of these plants and use the placement principles in your office. The team at Prestigious Plantscapes is right here to help you if you would like to use our plant hire and maintenance services in and around Brisbane. Call us today on (07) 3345 3385 for a chat and quote.