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The Spirit of Stone

…when stone is endowed with personality, one can find it delightful company.

~ Tung Chuin

Stone is the original building block of our world. It rises out of the earth, forming mountains, cliffsides and rocky outcrops. Unlike the sky, which is ever-moving, stone is solid and unwavering. It resounds with the energy of a place, which prompted ancient peoples to see large rock formations as endowed with special powers. Stone is timeless, condensing the present, past and future within its core. This is what the spirit of stone is all about. Andy Goldsworthy, a British environmental artist who works intimately with natural rock explained it this way: “A lone resting stone is not merely an object in the landscape but a deeply ingrained witness to time…”

Today, many people are rediscovering the spirit of stone; along with appreciating stone for its useful durability and rustic beauty, they enjoy the “grounding” that stone features confer upon their surroundings – and on us. Try holding a small stone in your hand. Concentrate on its solidness and feel the weight. After a minute or two you may feel a little more rooted, your energies more levelled out. This is the spirt of stone at work.

Like water, stone in the landscape is a chameleon material of the best kind, able to elicit from us our most creative efforts and imaginative ideas. Its unique appeal lies in its ability to be many things, from a solitary garden feature to an artful wall or a quiet gravel “sea.” Best of all, it is the long-lasting quality of resilient stone that makes it so worthwhile. What you create today will weather through the years, forming an enduring backdrop to fleeting flowers and shrubs. Stone stands the test of time, marking and making a place. Andy Goldsworthy said it well, “A stone changes a place with its presence, with time filling it and flowing aorund it, just as a sea or river rock affects the surrounding water by creating waves, pools and currents.”

This chapter, The Spirit of Stone, reviews some ways that natural stones have been used historically outdoors, designating a place. It offers new/old ideas for using this earthy material in a garden and, hopefully, will inspire you to see rocks as a living part of a vibrant landscape.

An artful stacked stone sculpture by Thomas D. Kent, Jr. This is a short lived balanced stone art piece that lasts as long as the wind does not blow.

The nature writer Loren Eiseley eloquently described the elusive secret life of large boulders in his book The Firmament of Time: “They seemed inanimate because the tempo of the life in them was slow. They lived ages in one place and moved only when man was not looking.”

Stones in Place

Stone, with its strength and permanence, was venerated by early cultures. Dimpled by time, rocks were deeply associated with their locale and told the story of a place in every fissure and crevice. Native Americans saw specific large rocks as the “ancient ones” or the “First People.” They would address a large boulder as “Grandfather” or “Aged One,” because it evoked an all-knowing presence. Naturally, this reverence led our ancestors to bestow meaning upon certain stones and to use them to summon up memories, assure fertility and to signify special areas.

The word “dolmen” refers to prehistoric stone monuments consisting of two or more upright stones supporting a much larger stone. This ancient dolmen is in the Rock Close of Blarney Castle in County Cork, Ireland. It is a large boulder sitting precariously atop rock supports.

Standing Stones

There is a long-lived tradition in many cultures of using standing stones — upright, vertical stones — to exalt a specific place. These tall sentinels were often seen as helpers, such as in the biblical story of Samuel, who installed an upright stone on the site where a victorious battle occurred. It was more than a commemorative stone; it was what he called an Eben-Ezer (Stone of Help).

The 60 ton “Balanced Rock” sits next to a roadside in North Salem, New York. It is the town’s designated historic landmark and is perched surprisingly atop three smaller pointed stones. You can walk around it and marvel at its placement. No one is quite sure how it ended up this way—scientists say it is an ‘erratic’ left by chance when the glaciers receded after the last Ice Age. Others, the descriptive sign says, believe it is a dolmen, a Celtic memorial stone.

You can find standing stones left by earlier civilizations around the world, and most particularly in Ireland, Great Britain and Brittany in northern France. In France they are called menhirs, and there are 1,200 of them in northwest France alone. They are thought to have been used as territorial markers or early astronomical calendars, but no one is certain. Whatever their purpose, their presence still exerts a commanding call.

In Crawick Multiverse the standing stones and the boulders are carefully laid out to represent cosmological themes. Constructed from 2,000 boulders found on the site, the “artland” conveys galactic mounds, comet collisions and much more.

Today, modern standing stones have the same exhilarating appeal. Charles Jencks, a well-known contemporary landscape artist and designer, used prominent standing stones in the spectacular “artland” and visitor attraction in Scotland known as the Crawick Multiverse. The large stones he placed and the earthworks he created form an inspiring landmark that links the themes of space, astronomy and cosmology. The stones, our most earthy material, are used to symbolically connect to the outer realms in a dramatic and memorable way. The Crawick Multiverse displays standing stones for us and future generations to enjoy. You can find more information on their website www.crawickmultiverse.co.uk

You can follow in the steps of this ancient tradition and install a standing stone or stones in your landscape. The spare majesty of tall vertical stones — used as a focal point or entry marker — can be quite memorable. Any kind of long, narrow or pointed stone may become a standing stone. You can use a fissured character stone or a smooth, tapered slab marked with long striations; the choice is yours.

The arrangement of these stones can vary as well. They can be solitary boulders, a procession of evenly spaced spires or a grouping of upright stones. You may choose to install one stone on a wide expanse of lawn, or you can highlight a noteworthy stone by placing it in a plant bed, flanked by a shapely pine tree. Just make sure your stone is deeply embedded in the earth for maximum stability.

The standing stones shown here can be seen in Innisfree in Millbrook, New York. The photo shows a series of pointed standing stones, half covered by the large leaves of common butterbur (Petasites hybridus). The contrast of the fissured, tapered rocks with large round, green leaves is what makes this scene so alluring.

Narrow natural stones, set upright along a road or in a garden make a unique statement. You can place them in a plant bed or alone. Standing stones can be formed of many types of stone: granite, limestone, bluestone, quartzite and others.

A group of standing stones are set within a grassy plant bed. They are counterbalanced by a low-lying natural stone that appears to jut out of the earth. Design by the author.

Choosing a Standing Stone for Your Garden

The best stones to use as standing stones are long, narrow or thin stones that have clear markings, marked grooves or angular protrusions. I think that the more interesting the stone, the better. I like to use coarse granite, because it is available in my part of the world, and I admire its dense character and grainy texture. Granite, an igneous rock, was formed during the fiery beginnings of our earth and is associated with balance, stability and determination. Healers say it is a guardian stone that offers protection and enhances the ability to be practical. It is said to disperse negativity. This is the “gift of granite.”

A Napping Stone…

Pets love to soak up the sun while stretched out on a large rock. Why not place a large flat stone in your garden as a napping place for your pet? It is the opposite of a standing stone and can be nestled in some foliage, hidden away.

Your choice of stones to use should be made both with your mind and with an instinctive “knowing” on your part. In fact, choosing the right stone and placing it upright is more a matter of collaboration with the stone than anything else. The secret is to learn to listen to the wordless instructions of the rock. Your eye may fall upon a stone and you will know that this is the right one to use. After that, it may tell you more. When I set a standing stone, I will look intently at it and let the rock “tell” me if it is correctly placed, at the right angle, etc. I know it sounds odd, but try listening to the stone, and always know there are no wrong choices.

This naturally “white-washed” standing stone is in the garden of Phillis Warden in Bedford Hills, New York. The stone sits in a plant bed with a beautiful Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) as an evergreen backdrop.

Using Local Stone

Stone that is native to your area can quietly connect you to a place, since it resonates with its surroundings. By becoming familiar with the native stone, we can know the area better. The granite mountains of New England tell a different story than the schist of Manhattan island or the limestone hills of Indiana. Each has a different pulse and impacts us differently.

Using native stone in a garden rather than synthetic materials elevates the garden. The Japanese architect Kengo Kuma likened using local materials to making sushi: “If the journey of the ingredients is too long, the taste of the sushi is compromised. That is a problem that can’t be solved by modern technology, and that program of using local material in season is the secret of good taste…”

A standing stone in the Crawick Multiverse designed by Charles Jencks celebrates both the earth and the sky.

Magnetic Rocks

The perception that rocks are lifeless and inert is wrong. In fact, some rocks are magnetic and resonate to the pull of the sun, moon and earth. This eye-opening concept may explain why certain stones are deemed by some cultures to be beneficial in a garden.

This photo is a striking example of a magnetic stone. Its magnetic attraction is so strong that the paper clips adhere to a hand that sits upon the rock! It contains a great deal of magnetite, which is the same stone that ancient mariners used to create their navigational compasses. It is located in the magnificent estate garden Lotusland, in Montecito, California. You can try it there for yourself.

An Artful Cairn for Your Garden

A stacked cairn of local stone sits on the grounds of Phillis Warden’s garden in Bedford Hills, New York.

You might want to consider including a stone cairn in your garden. The grace and beauty of these towers of stone add a special meditative quality to a garden and can vary widely in appearance. It is fun to make a cairn! You can choose to simply place stones in a tapered pile using rounded or flat stones of any size. Or you may choose to fashion them into a more shapely form, such as a rounded or egg-shaped structure. If so, use flat stones, because they stack more easily than round ones. They also lock together better, as long as the joints are staggered. There should be no need to chisel the stone if you take time to hand pick each stone.

The size of your cairn depends on its intended purpose and surroundings, but for safety’s sake, don’t build a cairn that is taller than you. To begin, dig a hole in the ground about 12" down, compact the earth and lay down filter fabric within the hole. This helps make the foundation more sturdy. Install a 6”-thick layer of angular (not rounded) gravel or crushed stone and compact it thoroughly. You can make it a little thicker if you want, just be sure to install in 2-inch layers and compact it thoroughly. Check that the gravel base is level.

Note: Do not install the cairn in a low spot of the property without providing proper drainage. Use several stones or one large stone for the cairn’s base, making sure that they cover the entire base, are level and very stable. The base is the most important part!

Lay a second course of stones on top of the first course. Stagger the stones and joints as if you were laying bricks. The cairn can become gradually narrower from its bottom to its top or can be a straight column. If a stone doesn’t lie flat on the stone below it, insert a smaller stone to act as a stabilizing wedge. Place larger capstones at the top. It takes practice and patience – slow and steady is the way.

A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Advice from a Stone Sphere Maker – Devin Devine

A mesmerizing spherical stone creation by Devin Devine.

Devin Devine is a stone mason and artist residing in Pennsylvania. Among other things, Devine builds spherical cairns for his clients. He never calls them cairns but simply “dry stone spheres.” He says, “My preference is to build them dry laid, but sometimes well-hidden glue and/or cement may be included in order to protect from vandalism or to make smaller sculptures movable.” Devine also sometimes includes small notepaper with his prayers and poems for humanity written on them. He encloses the paper, along with pieces of quartz, in the center of the spheres as he builds it.

Devine writes that “stacked stone spheres are kind of challenging. The risk of collapse is there, especially at the halfway point. And getting the flow just right is not something that I take very lightly. This type of project does involve a bit of play…but overall it really is not so much whimsical or spontaneous, but rather thoughtful and calculated.”

You can read more about his process at his website: www.devineescapes.com.

Stacking Stones — Zen Stones

A far simpler variation on making a cairn is simply stacking a column of smooth stones. The sight of tumbled, water-buffed river or beach stones – sometimes known as Zen stones – balanced atop one another quiets us in a very subtle way. Perhaps this is because rounded rock is a soothing sight.

You can create a stacked stone tower anywhere in the garden. I collect a few small, rounded rocks of varying sizes from a local river and trips to the seashore and bring them home. I wash them off in a bucket of water and leave them sitting atop a low wall, waiting for one of my visitors to stack them. It is a fun activity.

Choose a place to balance your stones where it will not be knocked over. I like to build them at a crossing or entrance to a garden. Select three, five or seven rocks and stack them with the largest at the bottom. Here is the challenge! You must find the balance points of your stones by playing with the shapes and their weight. It takes some deft, light touches, but it is enjoyable to do. It is an especially engaging activity for children in the garden. For added drama, you can also highlight the balanced stone tower at night.

Caution: once you stack some stones, you may be hooked. You may become a full blown stone stacking enthusiast and begin to balance larger ones atop one another in precarious places…it all starts with a few stones.

Stacked stones are a simple way to play with stones. Finding the balance point in each rock makes for a relaxing but focused outdoor activity. The result is a stone-on-stone piece of natural art.

You can collect water-smoothed rocks near the seashore or along river banks. Take a few home and try stacking them with kids or friends.

There is nowhere better than a rocky shoreline to practice your hand at stacking stones. This is what Thomas D. Kent, Jr., does when he visits Grindstone Neck in Winter Harbor, Maine, every summer. Kent creates what he describes as “balanced stone sculptures” using the rocks he collects there. He says he finds solace in wandering the beautiful coastline, which is a change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Philadelphia, where he lives. He selects the stones, balances them and then takes a photo. He admits these are ephemeral and says it is not long before a gust of wind upends them or a seagull mistakes them for a stable perch. He notes, “It is a rare thing when I arrive the following morning to find them all still intact.”

Stacked stone sculptures silently adorn the coastline in Winter Harbor, Maine. Sculptures by Thomas D. Kent, Jr.

Chinese Scholars’ Stones

If you are seeking to place a stone with meaning in your garden, the history of the Chinese scholars’ stone may be of interest to you. These strangely shaped limestone rocks, riddled with holes, furrowed and gashed with indentations, are a highly prized feature in traditional Chinese gardens. Scholars’ stones have been worn away by water and time and stand like organic abstract sculptures amidst ponds, bamboo and patterned paving. Their fanciful presence is a silent nod to the Chinese belief that these specific stones have supernatural powers that entice beneficial spirits into a garden. However, the accepted appeal of scholars’ stones rests on the notion that these fantastical rocks inspire lofty moods. Indeed, scholars’ stones stand tall and connote the vertical thrust of mountains. As Confucius said, “The humane man delights in mountains.”

In a Chinese garden, the size of the rock is not as important as its character and positioning. They are recognized for their resemblance to mountains or caves, particularly the magical peaks and dark grottoes believed to be inhabited by immortal beings. These unusual, some might say beautiful, rocks are judged on four important criteria:

• thinness

• openness

• perforations

• wrinkling

The most highly prized of these water-worn stones are called Taihu stones, coming from beneath the waters of Taihu lake. These limestone rocks have been collected since time immemorial and are rare. They are white or bluish-black and full of deep hollows and holes. It is said that if one strikes these stones they reply with a faint sound. The most highly regarded rocks emit a bell-like ring when struck.

Scholars’ stones with their strange shapes are considered to have supernatural powers, according to traditional Chinese belief systems. Here, the gnarled stone contrasts with the refined and intricate paving pattern in the Garden of Flowing Fragrance at The Huntington in San Marino, California. The weathered limestone rocks, from Lake Tai, symbolize the eternal.

The tall waterfall in the traditional Chinese Garden of Flowing Fragrance in The Huntington in San Marino, California. is set against a wooded backdrop of oaks and pines. It is made up of limestone from Lake Tai and can be viewed from the Pavilion for Washing Away Thoughts.

The primary attraction of scholars’ stones, however, is not their looks but something deeper. Kemin Hu, an expert on scholars’ stones, explained: “Easterners say that scholars’ stones share a telepathic connection with human souls.” It is the soulful qualities of these stones that make them a desired feature in a traditional Chinese garden. This was the reason that in the late 12th century, the artist Mi Fei, a stone-lover, had a pavilion built in his garden. It was expressly for the purpose of the contemplation of his stones. He even had a favorite stone that he bowed to and addressed as his “elder brother.”

The ancient instructions for setting scholars’ stones state that they must appear solidly based — with more of the stone beneath the ground than above. When in groups, the stones should never be symmetrically arranged, and if they are stacked to create an overhanging feature, they should be placed so as to avoid any feeling of instability or artificiality. They may be placed under a stately pine or combined with flowers. If they are large, they can be set up in front of big halls. This is useful stone-setting advice for us today as well.

The personal and spiritual affinity felt for some of these stones was shared by the great Tang Dynasty Chinese poet Bai Juyi (772-846), when he wrote:

Then I turned towards my two rocks asking If they would stay with me when I am old. They could not speak yet seemed to say That they would remain my faithful friends.

Japanese Viewing Stones

Special “viewing stones” are featured in the Japanese Garden in The Huntington in San Marino, California. By silently looking at these water-washed stones, so elegantly displayed, you may experience artistic inspiration or, at least, a relaxing mood.

The popularity of the limestone Chinese scholars’ rocks influenced the development of the Japanese art form known as suiseki or viewing stones. The Japanese had a deep respect for unusually shaped stones, trees, mountains and ponds, believing them to be inhabited by nature deities, so the idea of artful viewing stones was a natural progression. The stones are found in nature, often coming from rivers, and are prized for their natural shape, texture, color and surface pattern. These character stones are untouched by an artisan’s hand and are often displayed on special bases for best effect.

Like other art forms, Japanese viewing stones can be valued for their abstract essence. They may also be prized for their resemblance to perceived realistic scenes and are placed in categories such as Distant Mountain Stone, Stream Stone, Thatched Hut Stone, Human-shaped Stone and more. They may be set outdoors as a weatherproof art piece, and the best part is that visitors are encouraged to touch them!

Today, viewing stones have fans in the United States. In California, for instance, the natural stones run larger than the suiseki in Japan and can be dramatically colored. Many are prized by Japanese collectors. You can find more information from the website www.suiseki.com.

Eroded by water over eons, this black rock looks like a sensuous abstract sculpture. Viewing stones are carefully set on a constructed base, as shown here, and can be placed throughout a garden.

Split Rocks — Intriguing Native Stones

On a walk in the woods, you may find a large boulder or bedrock with a natural split in it. It may appear as if it is cleaved in two parts. These long crevices, extending the length of the boulder, were considered doorways to the underworld by Native Americans. Although too small for a person to physically enter, it was believed that spirits from beneath the surface travelled upward and passed through these narrow openings into the light. To appease the spirits, a single stone or carefully placed smaller stones would often be wedged into the split. In certain wooded parts of the U.S., you can still come across these stones.

The large split rock shares the spotlight with the summer grasses and blooming perennials at the Native Garden at the New York Botanical Garden: native plants such as prairie dropseed (Sporobulus heterolepsis), yellow flowering Coreopsis, fall asters.

I saw this boulder sitting along a country driveway as I drove by. I quickly turned back to take this photo. Notice the smaller stones wedged in the cleft – a Native American tradition.

You can see the dramatic large Split Rock at the New York Botanical Garden where it is one of the defining features of the Native Plant Garden. Divided by glacial movement eons ago, Split Rock remains unmovable and static as the luminous meadow grasses dance in the breeze. Its crevice is like a doorway for unseen visitors to emerge amidst the eye-catching foliage and blooming asters. This beautiful garden scene would not be the same without the punctuation of an enigmatic split rock.

Stone Circles

Our ancestors often set specific rocks in a circular arrangement to define special gathering places or to act as astronomical calendars. While some of these constructions are beyond the practical scope for most of us, you can easily make a circle of stones, patterned after the Native American council ring, in your backyard.

A stone circle can be made using upright slabs or large rocks that you can sit on. Whichever shape rocks you choose, try to find stones that contain a high percentage of quartz crystal embedded in them. This is because quartz is a conductor of energy that some of us can feel. It is piezo-electric and resonates in frequency fairly closely to our bones – because our bones respond in the same way a tuning fork hums to certain sounds.

Some stones exhibit stripes of white quartz crystal encased in the body of the rock. Quartz is a conductor of energy that some of us can feel.

The “bluestone” granite of Stonehenge, the most famous stone arrangement in the world, contains a high quantity of quartz and feldspar. Many prehistoric natural stone monuments seem to share the characteristic of containing large amounts of quartz.

Three Tips for Making Your Stone Circle

1. If you create a stone circle, make sure the diameter is the right size. Don’t place them so far apart that you have to shout to each other while sitting on the stones. Paint the points on level ground where you plan to set the stones and stand on those points before you put any rocks in place.

2. Consider how many stones you want. Some people have four stones and place one in each of the four cardinal directions. Others use eight for the eight points on the compass such as northwest, southeast, etc. And some prefer odd numbers and will use five stones, spaced evenly.

3. “Settle the stones” into the earth by digging a slight depression and then setting the rock within it. It is like planting a rock. You can plant a carpet of green Scotch moss and Irish moss around them, or you can also tuck different kinds of thyme at the base — their leaves will release a delightful aroma when you brush against them.

The Plimouth Plantation, a living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, has replicated a Native American “gathering circle” made of sitting stones. One is a large stone of white quartz that faces east to greet the first light of day. The explanatory sign next to the circle says, “…feel free to sit on any stone…the rocks offer an ancient story of their own. They point to the four directions which indigenous people understand as elements of Creation carrying meaning and power.”

The material of the stones corresponds to the qualities of the four cardinal directions. The sign explains the specific stone layout saying, “a granite stone bears a natural stripe pointing directly south…the west-facing granite, rust-colored with its iron content…another granite stone points a vein of green quartz directly north…”

Quartz was an important part of a Native American stone circle. One reason that Native Americans valued milky or clear quartz crystals is their belief that quartz contained supernatural power that could be used for various purposes. Quartz was considered solid light and was seen as being connected symbolically to the sun. This belief probably came from the practice of forcefully rubbing two quartz pieces together or striking a small stone against a piece of quartz crystal. The friction causes the quartz to emit white light. This is called triboluminescence and is not a spark but essentially pure light. The mechanical action causes the electrons in the atoms to absorb energy. When the electrons return to their usual state, the energy is released in the form of light coming from the interior of the crystal.

A stripe of quartz crystal makes this stone stand out among others.

* * *

The spirit of stone can be found in the stones we use in our landscapes and those that sit alone on the beaches, in the woodland, in the prairies and rocky cliffs. Their silent song is the one we celebrate in our rock gardens. The next chapter focuses upon rock gardens and explores how we can work with stones to create outstanding landscapes.