On my walks around the neighborhood, I enjoy all the tropical vegetation around the homes, parks, and buildings.  There are orchids, papaya trees, heliconia, plumeria and more.  

Of course having flowers and greenery is so uplifting and welcoming to any home.   It feels like there’s life in the home.

But, we’re complicated creatures.  Although we want our home to be welcoming, we still want to maintain our privacy.  It’s confusing how to achieve both!

As I stroll the neighborhood, nearby I come across old large properties that are completely walled in.  My favorite are the lava rock walls.  This is the rock that makes up the Hawaiian islands which were created by the lava that has been cooled and hardened.

They are beautiful because they are native to the landscape.  I think they’re more beautiful and are easier to maintain compared to the other wall materials such as metal, wood or concrete.  That’s because here, due to the moisture, metal rusts and wood rots quickly if not maintained properly.

But, the main purpose of a wall is for privacy and to keep intruders at bay.

In ancient China, they also used symbols to help keep not only intruders but evil symbols.  One of these is Fu Dogs.  This is a set of fierce looking dog figures that sit on each side of the front door.  Their job is to keep evil energy away.  They were the symbols of guard dogs who protected the people inside the building.  And they are scary looking for sure!  When I was a kid I had nightmares looking at these ugly creatures!

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Today, in the U.S. we often see them in front of Chinese restaurants or Asian buildings.  Some call fu dogs feng shui, but it’s really a cultural practice not feng shui.  

So, what would be a good feng shui practice. Well, I think I found one!

This is what I saw on one of my walks.

This is a lava rock wall that surrounds a large property.  At the top of the wall, is a plant called dragon fruit.  As you can see it grows in a twisted way.  The leaves are three dimensional triangles with spikes on the edge.  Those spikes hurt.  I know because my Mom has a plant and I tried to move it the other day and got pricked!

Now back to that amazing wall.  See where they place it. Right on the edge.

I thought, “How clever! No one can climb over that wall! Now that’s good feng shui.”

It follows nature, it respects the environment and it serves a good purpose but it does it in a most natural way.  I give it two thumbs up!  

What do you think?

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