Japanese Gardens – Large Stones

February 14, 2012

Specimen Boulders & Stonework

From stepping stones, bridge stones, specimen boulders, nobedan walks, a variety of gravels and hand carved stone features, stones make-up the backbone of any Japanese Garden and should be considered an important investment into your Japanese Garden project. So, when designing and constructing your Garden make sure to account for and invest in stones and stonework. If you are implenting your project slowly one phase at a time and over a number of years it often makes good sense to dedicate much of your inital budget to large stones. The primary reason is that they are important elements and are difficult to add or even reposition later. You can just imagine how disruptive it would be to install a large stone, which requires the use of heavier equipment into a Japanese Garden. If you do make this mistake, you may be able to use a crane to lift a stone overhead and into position, but this is often more costly than using loaders and other related machinery.

Specimen boulders should be hand selected for size, shape and color. They should be set into grade in a craftsman like manner creating well balanced and natural, or symbolic, effect. Making a big investment in specimen boulders for your Japanese Garden will almost certainly prove to be a good decision.

If you would like our help with help with your specimen stonework please contact us, Niwa Design Studio, at 952-1882.

Posted in Asian Gardens, Design Ideas, Garden Types, Landscape, Stonework