Life & Style | Home & Interiors
Arabian Ranches garden with Feng Shui twist
A touch of feng shui makes this gardena peaceful and tranquil haven.
- By Helga Jensen-Forde, InsideOut magazine
- Published: 00:00 September 15, 2011
- Image Credit: Silvia Baron/ANM
- The garden is also filled with unique elements that create interest.
Walking around Tejinder and Daisy Sodhi's garden in the Arabian Ranches, you immediately feel at peace. While the landscape comprises a plethora of carefully placed garden accessories, thereis something more that calms the senses.The couple credit the ancient art of feng shuifor this feeling.
Nagjee Nagjee, CEO of Milestone Landscaping and Interior Decoration, who designed the garden, points out the areas where feng shui has been applied. "In the relationship corner, for example, we placed a love seat with nice cushions. We also put a pair of statues together to depict a partnership, and the place is surrounded by water. In the mentor part of the garden sits a buddha, its presence signifyinga gesture of welcome." Strong sturdy plants have also been positioned in the garden to protect the health of the homeowners, the ambience enhanced by creative mood lighting.
The concept was Nagjee's, although the Sodhis played a large part in its development. "They shared their lifestyle with me and Daisy loves to cook and entertain, so I wanted to make her life better and allow her to do these things," says Nagjee. The garden was landscaped to include several seating areas for family and friends.
When you look around, it is hard to imagine that it was renovated not too long ago. Where previously there were just planters and patches of grass, today it is lush with tropical trees, such as foxtail, rhapis and livistona palm. Also placed in the mix are beautiful lemon, almond, fig and olive trees, and some flowering plants, such as jatropha, thevetia, gardenia, jasmine and oleander. "Nagjee removed our old plants and brought in several new ones that survive better in the summer," says Daisy.
The garden is also filled with unique elements that create interest. These include a table that can be transformed into a log fire simply by removing the surface. In addition, burnt logs giving an antique effect sit at one end of the garden. Various accessories dot the area, including beautiful statues. Many of these were collected by Daisy over the years and reused after the garden makeover. "Wherever I see something interesting, I pick it up and bring it home," she says. Most of the ornaments are Balinese and, although some are from Daisy's travels, many have also been acquired locally. While the garden now looks perfect, it is still a work in progress for its owners, with them saying they will always want to do more and more to the garden as they continue to enjoy it.
Walking around Tejinder and Daisy Sodhi's garden, you immediately sense the tranquility. While the landscape itself is a plethora of carefully placed garden accessories, something beyond that calms the senses, and that is the overall ambience.
On more than one occasion, visitors to the home have commented on the feeling that the garden exudes. "At the very first dinner, just after we had the garden landscaped, we received comments on the peaceful vibe and general good feeling."
For this vibe, the couple credit the ancient art of feng shui. Nagjee Nagjee, CEO of Milestone Landscaping and Interior Decoration, who also designed the garden, points out the areas where feng shui has been applied. "In the relationship corner, for example, we placed a loveseat with nice cushions. We also put a pair of statues together to depict a partnership, and the place is surrounded by water. In the mentor part of the garden sits a Buddha, its presence signifying a gesture of welcome."
Strong sturdy plants have also been planted in the garden to protect the health of the homeowners, the ambience enhanced by creative lighting - approximately 70 lights have been creative placed throughout the garden - and mood lighting in the relationship corner.
The concept for the garden was originally Nagjee's, although the Sodhi's played a large part in its development."The inspiration came from the client. They are extremely sharing," says Nagjee. "They shared their lifestyle with me and Daisy loves to cook and entertain so I wanted to make her life better and allow her to do these things."
With the garden landscaped to include several seating areas for guests, the Sodhi's along with thieir family and friends can make the most of it. "We use the garden for relaxing and want our visitors to also feel just at ease here. It's for everyone to enjoy."
When you look around the garden, it is hard to imagine that it was renovated recently not long ago. Although the family moved into their home on the Arabian Ranches in 2008, the garden was finished just a few months ago.
Where previously there was a pool, planters and patches of grass, today there stands a palm garden with a combination of tropical trees including foxtail palm, raphis palm and livitonia palm. Also placed in the mix are beautiful lemon, almond, fig and olive trees, and some flowering plants such as jatropha, thevetia, gardenia, jasmine and oleander.
"Nagjee removed our old plants and brought in several new ones that survive better in the summer," says Daisy.
The garden is also filled with unique elements that create interest. These include a table that can be transformed into a log fire simply by removing the surface. In addition, burnt logs that gave an antique effect sit at one end of the garden, while other areas are dotted with accessories, such as a cute snail on or beautiful, dreamy statues. Many of these have been collected by Daisy over the years and re-used after the garden makeover.
"I have collected a lot of things from all over the world. Wherever I see something interesting, I pick it up and bring it home," she says.
Most of the ornaments are Balinese and, although some have been bought on Daisy's travels, many have also been acquired locally. While the garden now looks perfect, it is still a work in progress to its owners.
"I will always want to do more and more to the garden over the years. I enjoy it!"
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