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Archive for the ‘Home & Garden Books’ Category

There are many reasons for creating an indoor garden - significant among them is the need to clean the toxins from our homes and offices. As a consequence of the energy crisis in the 1970's, today's homes and offices are built to conserve energy and the outcome has been a lack of air exchange, with the resulting increase of indoor air pollution. The World Health Organization has stated, "there's probably more damage to human health from indoor pollution than from outdoor pollution." Symptoms associated with indoor pollution include allergies, asthma, eye, nose, and throat irritations, fatigue, headache, nervous system disorders, respiratory and sinus congestion. In today's society more and more people exhibit these symptoms as a result of staying indoors the majority of the time.One of the ways we can change this predicament is to become knowledgeable about and responsive to the environment that we live and breathe in. Foliage plants give us the opportunity to not only provide the calming influences of nature in our homes and workplaces, but also provide us with the oxygen we need to live. In a study conducted by N.A.S.A., researchers found that plants also clean the air inside our homes, buildings, and offices. .. more »

"The Ancient Art of Placement" called Feng Shui (pronounced phung schway) literally means 'wind' and 'water.' The Chinese believe this cosmic energy, called Chi or 'the green dragon's cosmic breath,' is the life force energy that pervades human existence. The basic tenet of Feng Shui is to capture this vital energy creating balance and harmony in our environments. Feng Shui is predicated on the core belief that we, the earth, and every living thing on it are interconnected.Feng Shui is the oldest form of gardening dating back several millennia to China. It is based on the philosophy that man and nature must live in harmony with one another and that all life is infused with the invisible energy called Chi. This force circulates throughout our environment and is essential to our well-being, health, and happiness. The Chinese sages believed that any man-made feature could affect the flow of Chi so established the rules of placement that are central to this philosophy.In the Feng Shui garden, balance and harmony are the key factors. Balance and harmony are achieved by careful attention to detail and the balance of Yin and Yang energy. Yin energy includes the earth, rocks, ponds, plants, flowers, and .. more »