Working with stone and water is Loren Brown's professional life. But it's not just a job; it's more like a calling. He creates water gardens, falls and paths that blend into the environment.

Brown has been training for his career all his life. He built his first water garden at 12 years old and did his first water garden job at 18 -- some 40 years ago. His father was his first teacher.

"He was really into organic gardening and landscaping," Brown recalled. "I was involved with it throughout my childhood.

"We were all rock hounds and interested in fossils," Brown said of growing up in Florida. "We put a high value on rocks because there were no rocks there so whenever we went on vacation we'd come home with rocks. Every rock had its own story."

Brown said he was in heaven when he and his wife, Roxanne, moved to Virginia 30 years ago because of all the rocks the area has to offer. He started apprenticeships with stone masons the Rev. John Strange of Forest and Cecil Worsham of Madison Heights. Brown says he learned the masonry trade from the masters, and in 1978 he started doing stone masonry at Smith Mountain Lake.

Brown, 53, says working with rock is intuitive.

"There are certainly structural principles you have to follow," Brown explained. "The old masons I worked with said either you can do this or you can't. You'll know within a short time if this is what you can do."

From a large pile of rocks, Brown uses intuition and years of experience to create tranquil settings like the Grotto at Resurrection Catholic Church in Moneta.

"What's interesting about this project is that they wanted the church members to be involved so they brought stone that they had found or that was interesting or special to them, had a story."

If you look closely under the arch of the grotto, there is a cross. It was not a planned design. "It just sort of appeared. I had put in a form to maintain the shape and when I pulled the form out, the stone was there."

Brown was moved to tears as he remembered the day the statue of the Virgin Mary was put in place. "It was erected at 9 a.m., Sept. 11, 2004."

Most of Brown's work is residential: retaining walls, steps, paths and stone work on houses, and of course, the water gardens. Brown created a 15-by-30-foot pond for James and Linda Barber of Moneta. It's now two years old and has matured into a retreat.

"The neighbors walk by it and are just amazed," Linda Barber said. "He put in a little bench and we go out there and feed the fish. It's a good place to contemplate things or just relax and watch the fish."

Brown transformed Chris and Timothy Bailey's back yard with a retaining wall and a 6-foot waterfall that flows into a pond.

"The best part is I can open up the back part of my home and I can hear the waterfall in the house," Chris Bailey said. "We're really at a loss in winter time when we have to shut it down."

Brown takes land that is seemingly unusable, like the steeply sloped back yards of some lake dwellers, and makes a space homeowners can enjoy. He is a licensed contractor who works hand-in-hand with landscape architects and landscape contractors to create an environment that looks as if it were placed there by the hands of God. Brown says he hasn't quite gotten there yet, but it's the look he strives for in every job.

Brown does not use fake stone and manufactured masonry products. Many times he has gone out and hand-picked every stone he's used. Brown says to stay competitive with contractors who use the less expensive products, he prices his work so it doesn't cost that much more to do a project with natural stone. While a water garden could cost from $3,000 to $30,000, Brown will work with clients to develop a plan to get what they want at a price they can afford.

So he doesn't get rich. Brown says it's a lifestyle.

"Natural, just trying to come to that harmony of peace and tranquility in the environment, then also have a business of my own that I feel is expressive of my ideals," he said. " I'm out every day in the fresh air, sunshine and the rain working with people I like. What could be better?"

For more information, contact Loren Brown, Daybreak Natural Stone & Water Gardens, (540) 297-2954. Visit www.stoneandwater.biz.