There is something so calming about stones in a garden.  While living in Japan, I grew to appreciate old stones used throughout a garden, such as a stone pagoda covered in green moss, or the stepping stones used in a pathway to a temple.  White sand and gravel had long been a feature of Japanese gardens. In the Shinto religion, it was used to symbolize purity, and was used around shrines, temples, and palaces. In Zen gardens, it represents water, or, like the white space in Japanese paintings, emptiness and distance. (Source: Wikipedia).  Years ago, I brought back three large gray stones I found along the beach in northern California that reside…