Garden Stepping Stones - by East of Eden.
Welcome to our garden stepping stones article.
Turf was not used in ancient Japanese
gardens, although of late it has
been introduced in imitation of foreign
gardens, and with a view to economise
labour in garden making .In an orthodox
garden the plain open portions are
spread with sand raked in patterns, or as is still more common, a firm beaten earth, well weeded and swept, is retained.
This
is kept slightly damp at all times, to present a cool and fresh look. Because the Japanese wore wooden
clogs, this would invariably cut
the path to pieces, hence the introduction
of "Stepping Stones" or
Tsutai - ishi. Another name apllied
to them is Tobi - ishi, meaning
" Flying Stones, " because
of the resemblance to the formation
of birds in flight. Terms such as
" Sea - Gull Style " and
" Wild Goose Style " are
terms used to describe such arrangements.These irregular flat stepping stones are
referred to as" Shiki - Shama
, " or Scatterd Islands, in
reference to the islands of Japan.
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