There are those frenetic gardeners among us who systematically create their landscapes with something of an organized frenzy, arranging plants just so and religiously attending to water and weed.

Daphne residents and City Councilman John Lake and his wife Emiko are not among these.

With her keen eye for simple beauty and her Japanese ancestry, Emiko designs the garden striving for a serene atmosphere of relaxation combined with nature's beauty, while John is the workhorse.

"I do what she tells me," he says laughingly.

The partnership seems to work — from the tranquil sandy Zen garden in the front yard to the thriving raised vegetable bed out back, to the relaxing natural sounds of water, wind and birds that underscore the meditative scenery.

Everything in this lovely oasis is thoughtfully chosen for simple usefulness and beauty — from the decorative urns on the front porch, which some 60 years ago served as shipping vessels for imported olives from Greece, to the carefully selected rocks for placement in the sands of the Zen garden, to the 13 rain barrels purposefully placed throughout.

Their resulting lovely garden will be on display when a group of Master Gardeners, in town for the state conference, tour in late April.

The Zen garden, several rain gardens and the charming arbors, providing support for three types of grapes and wisteria, have been several years in the making and all are a continuing unfolding of Emiko's vibrant imagination.

Although Zen garden design may appear beguilingly simple on the surface, below each particularly chosen and placed rock, the raked gravel and the plants chosen with infinite care, there is a cherished dream in the making. The functions of the designs are very personal.

"Almost every weekend, we head down to Gulf Shores to choose rocks that Emiko likes,” John says. “She likes them to be big, flat and round — she always has a design in mind. Then when we get home, we have to place the rocks, usually three times, before she is happy with it."

Such valiant attention to detail is necessary to create a finished garden that is a form of worship and meditation for the Lakes — a place of tranquil beauty and peace the couple desires.

The placement of rocks is not random or accidental. The selection process is thoughtful and arduous. After the initial painstaking work of removing 12 inches of dirt by hand, Emiko added white sand that she raked into a wavy pattern, symbolic of water. Into this foundation, she has added the carefully placed rocks, a young maple tree and a few flowering plants. The very simplicity of this garden is meant to display a certain starkness that encourages gentle contemplation of our true natures as we leave behind the business of the world.

Vegetables and fruits are also beginning to thrive in John and Emiko's backyard. Vegetables, including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, asparagus, mustard greens, cabbages and green onions, are getting a healthy start in a waist-high, custom-made raised bed. A strawberry patch, a row of first-attempt watermelons, a pear tree, figs and

hillside blueberries and blackberries are all getting their spring start with Emiko's tender care.

Two apple trees grace the front yard and promise beauty and fruit for years to come.

The herb garden that Emiko nurtures includes the traditional rosemary, thyme, garlic, dill, basil, oregano, parsley, chives and her unusual spreading Japanese mint.

"Emiko makes a delicious red tea from the dried leaves," John shares. "And when we were in Washington recently, we were served a salad with Japanese mint leaves in it."

This creative couple shares the evolution of their morphing garden from its beginnings about five years ago.

"Emiko finds a little bit of something and incorporates it in and makes it work," John says.

She uses bamboo shoots that randomly pop up to form a natural fence along the property line in the backyard. This talented woman constructed a wooden bridge over the dry creek bed out back and makes pots from a fake cement and chicken wire to add her unique touch in the garden.

In an altruistic effort to take the overflow of water burden off of their neighbors, the Lakes have constructed a water retention pond and lovely gushing waterfall to help channel neighborhood water runoff.

The 13 rain barrels effectively provide rain water for all of the plants in the landscape. The waterfall gushes into a miniature wetland area in which papyrus, cattails and other water plants enjoy their watery home.

"We have coffee trees that we have been told will produce in five to six years," John says.

Pomegranates, olive trees, a bay leaf shrub, elephant ears, bulbs and roses have been lovingly tucked into this garden mix.

With a love of simplicity and innovative practice, John and Emiko make a creative gardening team who beautifully recycle what is taken from the land into a lovely garden vision that nurtures everyone who visits.

They instinctively seem to know that "everything that slows us down and forces patience — everything that places us back into the slow circles of nature is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace."