OUTDOOR ZEN
by Carole Schwalm

It is getting colder and it almost the end of the season. Yet, you may still be using your patio or yard, and you can extend the season even longer with a fire pit or a chiminea. Gather your chairs around for warm, literally, conversations.

The trees are turning and soon they will be bare. While the view from your inside windows changes, you can create happy and pleasant things to look at like unique birdhouses, bird feeders, and bird baths that attract your feathered friends, who thank you by bringing good ch’i.

A container of pampas grass or apache plume can grow tall enough to reach mid-window on a first floor. There are many beautiful ornamental grasses that remain that way through the cold months. You can increase the height when it comes to window level by building a little hill and securely placing a container on it.

Wind chimes create good ch’i, and music and there are so many pretty ones on the market that can enhance a window view. There are prisms that catch the sun as well.

Don't forget that a southern exposure window is the perfect place to put plants inside to enjoy. We have bougainvillea just beginning to bloom and it flowers through the winter with a southern exposure.