Water Features in Sydney now the 'it' feature

    /24-7PressRelease/ - NARABEEN, NSW, AUSTRALIA, August 30, 2008 - Over the past five years Sydney landscape designer Vicki Beecher has created more water features in Sydney than she can remember. Her reputation as a Feng Shui specialist has garnered much interest from homeowners in need of a positive energy boost. And with "100 per cent of clients wanting water features and 90 per cent actually implementing them", she has found some definite trends for water features in Sydney peninsular gardens.

Waterfalls, extravagant as they may sound the current "it" water features in local gardens. And like the properties they occupy, these tranquil water feature tricklers come in all shapes and sizes. The latest water feature project and the biggest waterfall built by Vicki and her team from Our Garden Path saw nine to ten tonnes of rock arranged on a Newport property to serve the dual purpose of retaining wall and spectacular waterfall and pond which will eventually house koi.

Weighing around 600 kgs each, the sandstone rocks - some featuring auspicious and heavy purple stripes of iron - were handpicked by Vicki who commonly uses limestone and serpentine in water features for feng shui purposes. "Serpentine is black, therefore its neutral colour which doesn't detract from the water. You don't want the rocks to be the feature, it's the water feature and sound that should stand out," Vicki said. Not all jobs are this awesome however, with natural- looking rock crevices offering "billabong style" water feature, a popular choice in bush land settings.

"There are a lot of water features around here and many homeowners don't have feng shui in mind, but they want to encourage birds into the garden. Even then, you're still using two of the basic cures from feng shui - the movement of water and living things," Vicki said

She also believes the lifestyle on the beaches in conductive to Feng Shui principles which sees moving water as positive. Water features, she says, are one of the most popular ways to incorporate Feng Shui into modern life.

"There's a lot of enlightenment out there and the people love the trickling sound of water," Vicki said. "You've also got a second generation on the beaches who can't afford to buy in here and have the $30,000 swimming pool. "Instead, they have a $10,000 water feature," she said. In Feng Shui the position of the water feature is as significant as its purpose - in the Newport case placement at the front of the sloping block influences the property's helpful people and travel sector.

Vicki points out that Feng Shui should not be taken seriously and says it's 30 per cent fun - so don't counter any positive energy with the negativity of fretting! It is not uncommon for the garden to become the starting point for homeowners who want to spread the benefits of Feng Shui throughout their property.

"You have to take the home into account with water features in the garden, especially when it's something that can be viewed from the house." Vicki said.

"I've had clients who ask me inside to talk about colour. They trust my design instinct and want to follow it through with the interior," she said. Communication is the key to creating the perfect water feature design for a client says Vicki, who puts much of her success in this field down to intuition. "I can walk on to a block of land, wether it's established or just dirt, and see what it's meant to be and then make it that way,' Vicki sad.

"A lot of people can't conceptualise or visualise, even with a water feature design on paper, and that's where communication is important. "You get an intuitive feel for people when you meet them. I even had one client say, 'I had to get a woman in because when my husband cleans the kitchen he never wipes under the toaster'," Vicki said.

About Our Garden Path

For more information on water feature services provided by Our Garden Path visit www.ourgardenpath.com.au 
or call Vicki on 0414 481 602.

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