In The Garden
Saturday, April 21, 2001
KEN IGE / STAR-BULLETIN
Michael Miyashiro, owner of Rainforest at Ward Warehouse,
shows plants that are suitable for creating good feng shui
around the home and garden.
Cacti, succulents ideal for
garden of good fortuneSee also: Designing harmony
LAUGH ALL YOU WANT at the plant bearing the unattractive name of "mother-in-law's tongue." Just remember it is THE plant guaranteed to create good feng shui in your home, which means it will bring you nothing but good luck.That's according to Michael Miyashiro, president of the Cactus and Succulent Society of Hawaii for three years running.
"So many people don't realize the mother-in-law tongue is a good feng shui plant. People hear that name and they turn their nose up at it," Miyashiro said.
It is an ideal plant because it is a survivor. "You can't kill it," he said. It'll even live in the bathroom (where there's often little natural light)."
On Exhibit: Feng Shui Garden by the Cactus and Succulent Society of Hawaii, part of "Hawaii Calls" Flower Show presented by the Garden Club of America FENG SHUI ON DISPLAY
Place: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 South Beretania St.
Time: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 27 and 28; 1 to 5 p.m. April 29
Cost: Free to Hawaii residents with identification, $7 for non-residents, $4 for students, military and non-resident seniors, free to children 12 and under
Call: 532-8700
Feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of achieving harmony and good fortune through careful placement of objects within one's environment, favors plants that don't die. Having a living plant in the bathroom is essential for creating good feng shui. The soil for the plant is the earth element needed to attract and retain "chi," the life force energy, which is lost through the flushing of the toilet, he said.
The shape of the plant is good, too. The tongue-like leaves grow straight up and do not take up much space. Aside from radiating positive energy, recent scientific studies also rate the plant as excellent in removing indoor pollutants, Miyashiro said.
Miyashiro and his fellow society members plan to use plenty of mother-in-law tongue plants -- some as tall as 8 feet -- to transform the Mediterranean courtyard at the Honolulu Academy of Arts into a feng shui-based garden April 27 to 29.
The Feng Shui Garden will be part of the "Hawaii Calls" Flower Show, organized and presented by the Garden Club of America, which invited the society as a guest exhibitor.
"This is a very exciting opportunity for us to show people what a good plant the mother-in-law plant is," Miyashiro said. "Feng shui is so in now, and so many of the plants good for feng shui are succulents and cacti."
The Feng Shui Garden will comprise a variety of cactuses and succulents. A map will divide the garden into nine equal square areas, with the center representing Earth and requiring yellow-colored plants. Each area represents specific ideals, such as wealth and prosperity, and will be filled with plants with colors that foster those ideals.
Part-time feng shui consultant Sharissa Chun came up with the map. Chun, who is a full-time real estate agent, said most requests are for mapping home interiors, but the theories work just as well for outdoors.
Also desirable for good feng shui is the jade plant, which has round fat leaves the color of green apples, Chun said. The plant is associated with long life and good health.
Miyashiro said the garden will feature regular-size jade plants as well as plants only a few inches high. Some of the society members have been nurturing miniature jade plants that grow in less than an inch of soil.
"These miniature plants are really special. They can be very old plants, but they are really tiny," he said. These types of plants are the inspirations for miniature bonsai-like creations made of jade and other precious and semiprecious stones, also recognized for their positive energy forces.
Gardening Calendar
Suzanne Tswei's gardening column runs Saturdays in Today.
You can write her at the Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI, 96813
or email stswei@starbulletin.com
