Wensel Harris and Janice MacLean have transformed a blank canvas into a place of inspiring beauty. Dazzling displays of perennial flowers create continuity for every season. There’s a labyrinth of raised vegetable and herb gardens, fruit trees and bushes, a large free-range chicken coop, and beehive homes.
“In 1997 I built our house, and then in 2011 Janice moved in and we started transforming the grounds into a garden for every season,” explained Harris.
Paths are lined with stone, there’s unpainted sculptures left to rust in their natural state, a charming greenhouse complete with chandelier and antique furnishings that make it the ultimate home space, and a custom-built shed that contains separate boxes in the roof for Starlings to nest.
“The holes in the shed represent an individual box for the Starling birds to nest, so they don’t get trapped inside the building,” grinned Harris. “We had a squirrel and her babies live in the shed too.”
The garden, which is an eye-catching tapestry of texture and colour, is a haven for wildlife.
“We have bunnies, foxes, a pheasant, wild cats, and a wild turkey roaming around our garden. Nothing gets turned away. The wild cats roll around in our garden and we went to the Cat Action Team to get them a home for nearby, and we plant catnip for them to enjoy,” added MacLean.
In the far corner, surrounded by lush green trees are six separate beehive homes. The hives are home to thousands of honeybees that produce an abundance of wildflower honey that has a light and floral taste.
“I remember my mother saying they always had a beehive in the orchard when she was a kid, and that’s what sparked my interest. We were doing so much gardening and wanted the pollinators, so we started with one little beehive and now we have six,” explained MacLean.
The bees pollinate the flowers, providing bountiful harvest of fruits, seeds and vegetables, as well as the joy of watching them up close.
“We have a tree that his son planted from an apple seed and it had never made an apple, and a year after we got the bees the tree got apples,” added MacLean.
“We don’t use any chemicals on the property (located on Chelton Road), so to combat the aphids and the potato beetles we ordered in 2,000 live ladybugs from Costco online, which was a tip we actually got from being part of the Summer Garden Tour. The ladybugs are out on the property eating all the bugs and living their life, it’s wonderful,” she continued.
Heavenly scents bring the garden to life from rosemary, sage, celery, parsley, saffron, chives, garlic, onions, sweet marjoram, lemon thyme, oregano, tarragon, four different kinds of basil, five types of potato, camomile, beets, grapes, raspberries, to name but a few crops growing.
“We do onions, beets, carrots, garlic (around 600 bulbs), snow peas, snap peas, yellow and green beans, we have paste tomato, cherry, and a heritage tomato that’s been in our family since 1918,” said MacLean.
The front lawn is equally rewarding with a view of the spectacular Confederation Bridge. The couple joined the Summer Garden Tour recently to showcase their hard, but rewarding work.
“We had around 100 people visit,” MacLean commented, while pointing out her climbing red and white roses that will, in time, form a fragrant blossoming tunnel. The couple plans to host weddings on their well-managed landscape.
“I’m a marriage commissioner, and we already have our first wedding planned here in August,” concluded Harris.
More information on the garden is available at: [email protected]
