traditional Japanese landscapes. These pines average sixty feet tall, so city arborists use ropes to climb to the tops and take great care pruning each tree. Water Water commonly plays a large role in Japanese gardens and serves to highlight purity and liveliness. Ponds and waterfalls are often placed with precise orientations with respect to the sun to determine the reflection. In the native Japanese religion, ponds were created for sacred reasons as places for the gods to roam while the surrounding stones were utilized as seats. The auditory atmosphere of the Japanese Tea Garden is created through the blissful and peaceful sound of the moving water. Tsukubai, found in the Japanese Tea Garden, is a water basin originally used by guests to purify themselves before taking part in the tea ceremony. The dry garden at the Japanese Tea Garden represents the importance of water through wave patterns and artificial islands created by rocks. Water has remained an integral representation of Japanese Gardens and its connection to the elite world of immortals. Rocks Rocks are integral components of the traditional Japanese garden. They are generally thought of as the backbone of the arrangement of the space and as "dwelling places of gods, tokens of regal power, and symbols of longevity." Rocks serve three main purposes in the garden, the first of which is mimicking larger natural formations such as mountains and bodies of water. The second purpose is to form rock clusters. In Japanese Gardens, rocks are often clustered with one large rock as the base stone. Others are arranged around it so they agree with the mood or order set forth by the base. Those groups of rocks often appear to have order and flow while remaining asymmetrical. Thirdly, rocks can also serve the purpose of guiding the eyes to other parts of the garden. They point viewers toward the focal point of the design of the garden. Paths and stepping-stones are formed in irregular patterns so people slow down and notice the design around them. In addition, Shinto is a fundamental principle in Japanese gardening where rocks have a decorative duty depending on their positions. A tall stone standing erect of the ground, for example, is associated to masculinity, while a low flat stone represents femininity, mirroring Shinto belief that all things in nature contain gender equilibrium. The Japanese Tea Garden is a mixture of influential Shinto and