In feng shui practices within the home, the adjustment of energy is closely associated with certain plants and flowers, a concept mentioned in many ancient feng shui texts. The following excerpts are illustrative: "Trees facing the house bring good fortune; trees behind the house bring misfortune." "If the bamboo and trees around the residence are lush and green, financial luck will be favorable." "Planting trees in the courtyard signifies division; planting jujube trees by the door brings auspiciousness; planting trees in the center of the courtyard leads to idleness and troubles; planting trees in the middle of the yard invites misfortune." From these statements, it can be seen that traditional feng shui pays close attention to the types of trees near the residence and their placement, as they are believed to influence the home's feng shui.
The trees mentioned above refer to outdoor plants, while indoor plants have their own principles. Indoor plants used for feng shui purposes can be divided into two main categories: evergreen plants for enhancing vitality (sheng wang), and cactus-type plants for neutralizing negative energy (hua sha). These two types of plants must be clearly distinguished because their functions differ, which in turn affects their ideal placement directions. If this distinction is not clear, one might inadvertently cause more harm than good!