The front door is one of the primary focal points when assessing the feng shui of any home.
This single part of a house has countless factors to consider in order to getting it right.
These include determining the best main door direction, choosing the colors for the door, identifying the best location to construct it, etc.
Saying that, the goal that any DIY feng shui practitioner should focus on is to not get things wrong instead of getting things right. This implies that the primary objective should be to avoid negative energy rather than harnessing positive energy.
For example, if the main entrance of a house has a view of a hostile poison arrow such as that of a pylon, then you need to remedy that before moving onto enhancements.
Only when negative energy can be effectively subdued can one start to explore tapping on positive energy.
On of the common front door considerations is whether to place plants at the door area, and if so, what are the best feng shui plants for the front door.
Plants beside the front door
A lot of people don’t realize that they have plants or flowers positioned right beside the main door into the house even though they had put them there themselves.
I’ve experienced various instances where I had to point them out right in front of home owners for them to realize that they have naturally and instinctively set up potted plants right beside the main door because it just felt right.
Placing plants at the front door area helps to slow down chi before it makes it’s way into a house.
This is widely considered as a good feng shui placement as fast moving energy can often be harmful to the health of the home.
In addition to that, plants are made up of natural wood energy.
This can add a needed boost to the front door area if it needs the presence of wood. It can also act as a repellent against malicious poison arrows that arrive from the northeast or southwest direction. This is because these two directions carry earth based energy and would be subdued by the presence of wood.
Having said that, it would take big plants to defend against big sha chi.
Something else that few feng shui masters share is a closely guarded secret of manipulating the facing direction where energy is arriving from.
Large tree plants can actually interfere with energy enough to push it a few degrees away from a property’s original facing direction. This makes it possible to “shift” the facing direction of a house from one sector of the 24 mountains to another.
For example, if a house is facing N1 direction and the homeowner finds it undesirable, a tree plant with a strong presence on the left side of the main door can actually nudge the facing direction to N2. Essentially changing the natal chart of the house.
Don’t believe me? Bring a compass around the house and see how the needle behaves when you get close to each big pillar.
This however, is much more advanced stuff and I’m sharing it out of interest. You should not attempt to do this unless you are absolutely certain with what you are doing.
On top of that, it would take quite a significant plant to be able to influence energy in this manner.
Back to the main topic of plant door planter ideas.
Plants at the front entrance can play a positive role not just to the overall aesthetics, but have positive feng shui uses as well.
You would then have to make two decisions of whether to use big or small plants, and what plants to buy.
Big plants
If your purpose for placing plants near the front door area is for the wood energy that they naturally bring, then big plants are definitely the way to go.
When we talk about size of plants, the 3 key factors that should be considered are the height, the amount of foliage, and the girth of the main trunk.
It’s difficult to set a standard of what size constitutes to a big plant. However, most people should be able to judge for themselves what is big and what is small.
I can only say that if a plant is 1 meter tall, has so much leaves that you cannot spot a a hole to see through to the other side of it, and the main stem has a girth of 3 inches, it would definitely be considered as a big plant.
That’s not saying that anything less that the specifications described above would be a small plant. Again, it’s down to judgment and the size of the house and door.
Here are some of the best good fortune plants for the front door.
Money tree
How can any one ignore a tree plant with a name as attention-seeking as the money tree plant.
This plant can grow to quite a height and would be able to shield and distort negative energy arriving at the main door.
It also symbolizes… wealth and money. So it can fill positive energy with more auspiciousness as it enters the house.
They certainly make great front entrance plants.
Iron tree
The iron tree plant has a classy look to it.
So much so that the demand for them are so high that there are businesses then rent them out to event organizers just to place them in corners of event locations.
They make great front door plants and blend in very well with modern design homes, as well as become a staunch protector of the front entrance.
Areca palm
The areca plam is another classic favorite of home owners.
They have beautiful and gracious foliage that blocks everything from view.
This makes them very useful in blocking unsightly areas such as drains or pipes outdoors.
However, they tend to have a wide foliage. This means that you would need to have a wide space beside the main door in order to place this properly.
Otherwise, it’s leaves would probably obstruct the main entry way into the door.
Boston fern
The boston fern is another great plant that can block and hide most sources of poison arrows that are present outside the house and directed at the front door.
The are look lush sophisticated for modern home designs.
The drawback is that their foliage can take up significant space.
So only consider it if there is enough outdoor space to place it without causing any obstruction to the door.
Small plants
It was mentioned earlier that big plants would be able to bring significant wood element energy.
Small plants individually are not going to make any significant impact. They do make their presence felt in numbers.
So if your intention is to tune up wood element in the space, then you need to have a few small plants to have any meaningful impact.
But if your reason is purely from a visual standpoint, then go with one plant if you want. They are still going to be lucky plants in front of the house.
Jade plant
The jade plant is a luscious looking plant with succulent leaves. Their symbolism of wealth makes them so suitable for front door entrance areas.
I’m not just saying this because it’s one of my favorite good luck plants for the front door.
They are simply wealth attracting plants that can bring more money luck to anyone willing to take care of them.
Golden pothos
Aside from being one of the money plants that people often refer to, the golden pothos is well-known as a cleanser plant that detox and refresh the air.
Because of the “lazy” nature of this plant, gardeners like to keep them potted and hang them from the ceiling.
If you choose to do the same, they can be hung at chest height. Don’t let them be above your head.
Lime tree
The lime tree is a good luck plant that is generally considered as auspicious due to their bright orange fruits when ripe.
And while they are called trees, they are usually kept in small sizes for easy management.
A plant like this at the front door can also add a touch of cheerfulness whenever you see it when arriving home.
Bamboo plant
The bamboo plant is one of the most well-loved lucky plants in feng shui. It is believed to not just bring good luck, but also eliminate bad luck.
It would definitely be a welcomed addition if you are creating a line up of small plants near the door.
Feng shui front door plants
It’s worth clarifying again that if your intention of plant placement in at the main door area is for the presence of wood element, then you either need big plants or a number of small plants.
If this is not on your mind and you simply want to place them there for aesthetic reason while ensuring that you don’t cause any feng shui afflictions, then you can pick any of the above stated plants without having to worry.
The exception is when you are using a lot of them to build a green wall of nature or something like that.
In that case, you should look at the fundamental energy nature of the front door area and determine if wood energy is going to be good feng shui or cause afflictions and energy conflicts.
