Why Feng Shui Says You Shouldn't Have Dried Flowers In Your Home
Feng shui comes to us from ancient China and the Taoist understanding of chi (or qi), which can be translated to mean the energy and life force found in everything. The practice incorporates the five elements of the universe — water, earth, fire, wood, and metal — explains interior designer Julie Khuu via her YouTube channel. Using these elements to attract positive energy and good fortune is considered a wonderful way to restore and increase harmony and balance in your home.
There are many decisions to make when decorating your house in tandem with the principles of feng shui. Some will be based on what colors you like and which items you want to bring into each room. Others will take stock of what has likely been bringing down the energy and whether it needs to go for good. For example, feng shui designers at Love to Know point out that live plants and fresh-cut flowers are excellent additions for cleansing the air and bringing balance to the water element. They are also believed to welcome luck while shunning negative energy right back out the door.
If you've gone through the process of bringing feng shui to your garden, you may be tempted to cut flowers to hang dry in order to use them as wall decorations. But will that dusty dried bouquet mess up your home's overall feng shui?
What's wrong with dried flowers?
The most basic tenet of feng shui is the incorporation of life force energy. To this extent, healthy, flourishing live plants and flowers are a welcome addition. Mindful Design Feng Shui School notes that dried flowers are the opposite of the life force; they are dead, which means they are representative of the energy of death called yin chi (or yin qi).
Feng shui expert Anjie Cho adds that if you are trying to improve an element — for instance, elevating fire energy with red flowers — dried flowers will do nothing to help. In fact, they are thought to carry negative energy with them, so they may make things even worse.
It's interesting to note our reasons for using dried flowers instead of living ones. Of course, keeping a happy memory present is beautiful, so don't knock yourself for drying and displaying a bouquet from an important event. But if that's not the reason for their presence in your home, what is? For example, if we're concerned that our home lacks adequate natural light for a live plant, we might consider the effect of the lack of light on us.
Furthermore, if we're uninterested in putting in the effort to take care of a living thing, we might think for a moment about whether we're being lazy about something else that's important. The answers we come up with can highlight the subconscious effects that our spaces and the items contained within them have on us.
The one dried flower that's okay to use
The scent of lavender is so important to increasing chi that it's the one dried flower thought to add to the positive energy of a space rather than take away from it. According to Love to Know, it is beneficial for relaxing and energizing the spirit. Place a sachet in a cluttered closet to reduce the stagnant chi and welcome in the positive until you're able to sort through the mess.
Another great spot for dried lavender is the linen closet. Lavender is known to promote relaxation and improve sleep, but the guidelines of feng shui say not to use flowers in the bedroom. Letting your sheets and blankets absorb the relaxing fragrance while they sit on a shelf in the closet is a great way to transfer the calming benefits to your bed without breaking the flower rule.
Per the Los Angeles Times, a dust-free bunch of dried lavender will also bring some beautiful color into your home. Try adding it to a decorative wreath hung on your front door.