Beautiful Gardens: Jay and Diane Wesley, Halifax

Story by Shauna Dobbie, photos by Jay Wesley

Jay and Diane Wesley’s Japanese-style garden in Halifax is a very special place. Situated on a corner lot, the 70-by-130-foot space is green year-round, a mix of bamboos, evergreens and more than 50 varieties of rhododendron. When there’s no snow, you can barely tell that it’s winter from the pictures. In spring and summer, the vibrant shades of green are offset by the rare flower.

Jay worked for the parks department for Halifax for 37 years, including 10 years as the supervisor of horticulture, but it was a trip to New Hampshire that inspired his design. “The story of the garden is anything but what I worked with,” he tells me.

At Fuller Gardens in New Hampshire, Jay came across a small corner of the acreage dedicated to Japanese-style gardening. “For all the grandeur of the formal gardens, this little corner was so peaceful,” Jay says. “On my visits, I’d just sit there listening to the trickle of water and kind of gazing into all the shades of green.”

He thought of his yard and what it would feel like to come home from work and sit in such a place. After researching some Japanese gardens, including the famous one in Portland, Oregon, and some in Japan, he set to work.

A stone lantern under a tall cloud tree.

The garden is shady with trees, many of which are pruned into “cloud trees” in the Japanese fashion. I rarely see this type of pruning in Canadian gardens. “One thing I liked about it when I first looked at these cloud-pruning type methods is that they clean out a lot of the dead needles and expose branching a little bit, which actually allows more light penetration to the lower branches.”

A magnolia bloom rises above the huge leaves.

From the deck it’s easier to get a good look at some of the trees close up.

Japanese tree care includes other methods as well, such as weighting tree branches and directing growth with poles. Jay has done a little of that too, but it’s more time consuming.

The ground is layered with naturally grown moss. “It’s not hard to grow moss in Nova Scotia!” he says. “Everybody pulls moss out, I love moss. That’s one thing that caught my eye about Japanese gardens is moss and ferns.” These two things lend greenness to the floor of the garden in the shade.

Another Japanese aspect is the number of rhododendrons. Folks in much of Canada would be impressed by these beautiful flowering trees in Jay’s garden; he has more than 50, “If you’re in the right location here, you can just jab a rhododendron in and it will grow,” he says. They require acidic soil and the right amount of drainage. He’s seen them reach as high as 20 feet in Nova Scotia.

Looking out over the yard, the view remains green year round, thanks to all the evergreens.

Perfectly bright red chairs on the deck during the January thaw.

Large wind Chime hung like a Japanese temple bell.

A stepping-stone path through the cloud trees in summer.

The garden in miniature, with a water feature and some young trees.

A young Japanese maple settles in. Some ferns have been transplanted here and will soon fill this area of the garden.

A young Japanese maple settles in. Some ferns have been transplanted here and will soon fill this area of the garden.

About six years ago, they had a contractor friend visiting and he asked why they didn’t have a window from the sitting room to overlook the garden. Jay and Diane thought about it and realized that it was a great idea. A year later they had one installed, and now they can gaze at the garden all year, regardless of the weather. This has been a boon for Jay.

Before the window, he seldom sat in the garden, he would always work in it, which isn’t to say that the work wasn’t enjoyable. In addition to the window, in the last year, owing to some health trouble, he has been required to rest more, and he is finally taking time to enjoy the garden during warmer weather.

The gardens have got some recognition, particularly now that he posts pictures on Facebook. He gave a tour of over 100 people and a virtual talk this winter to a garden club. I hazard a guess that more garden clubs will be asking for tours once the pandemic is over. The one thing you think when you see the pictures is, I want to go there.

From inside, after a snowfall.

The half-awake garden. Notice the whiteness of the birch trees.

It's magical at dusk, too!

The half-awake garden. Notice the whiteness of the birch trees.