The magic of a Japanese Garden is renowned for its beauty, mindfulness and symbolism. Imagine the challenge of creating one in a northern climate – with deeper winter temperatures and less humid summers. When the City of Burlington, Ontario decided to create a Japanese inspired garden in honor of Burlington‘s 30th anniversary of partnering with the City of Itabashi in Japan – a challenge was placed. How to take an existing small garden space behind a community center and transform it into a Japanese inspired garden that honors a centuries old tradition of garden making. To place rock and boulders as if ancient glaciers and Mother Nature placed them is an art form in Japan. The 11th-century guide to making Japanese gardens, the Sakuteiki, defined the way rocks and stones were to be placed. The Sakuteiki was written in a time when placing stones was the most important part of gardening in Japan. Stone literally defined the art of garden making, ishi wo tateru koto (build up with stone).