Stephanie Appleby-Jones’ Nova Scotia garden is a natural retreat

Story by Shauna Dobbie; images by David Johnson

Stephanie Appleby-Jones has always been a gardener at heart. She refined her skills at her ¾-acre lakeside Nova Scotia garden in Fall River and further honed them with a master’s degree from Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture, where she focused on native plants and green roofs.

Together with her husband, Tim Jones, who often supplies the muscle behind her creative visions, Stephanie began transforming their wooded lot nearly three decades ago. When they bought the house on Thomas Lake, they brought seven truckloads of plants from their previous home. With young children in tow and limited funds, she began shaping the garden by planting small rhododendrons under oak trees, taking advantage of naturally acidic soil. Today, those once-tiny shrubs have grown into a lush hedge.

Designing a layered landscape

Stephanie’s approach to gardening blends cultivated beauty with ecological sensitivity. Closer to the house, she developed sun-loving flower beds and incorporated an edible landscape filled with herbs, lettuce, carrots, and other vegetables. Inspired by a course she took, she mixed form and function into the design.

The former tennis court now serves dual purposes: part garden, part parking for Tim’s business. A chain-link fence is camouflaged by clematis, honeysuckle, and Virginia creeper. In the garden beds, you’ll find an eclectic mix of poppies, allium, delphinium, daylilies, hostas, and ornamental grasses like hakonechloa.

A central lawn of moss and turf grows above the septic bed and surrounds a firepit—a favourite wintertime view from the plant-filled sunroom.

The wild garden by the water

Down the slope toward the lake lies Stephanie’s “wild garden.” Here she encourages native species such as yellow hawkweed and pink filipendula while removing invasive plants. She has managed threats like the beech leaf weevil and is now thinning out hemlocks to help prevent the spread of the hemlock woolly adelgid, a serious pest in Nova Scotia.

Unique plants and personal touches.

Her time working in a greenhouse added to her diverse plant collection. She brought home treasures with every new shipment: lacecap hydrangeas, holly, corkscrew hazel, and a stately Nootka cypress now welcoming visitors at the front door.

Inside, her sunroom acts as a winter greenhouse filled with tropicals, daffodils, and hyacinths. It offers a peaceful view over the lake when the snow flies.

Stephanie’s signature pink poppies, a gift from her mother-in-law, bloom abundantly among the herbs and vegetables. She brings creativity to every corner, from screens made of old closet doors to handmade wool crafts she sells at local shows.

A gardener’s legacy

Though she avoids the sun for health reasons, Stephanie continues to shape the garden – now with Tim retired and available for daytime lifting and weeding. She decorates the handmade arbours with twinkle lights, turning the yard into a year-round source of joy.

Her generosity blooms as freely as her garden. The first day she moved in, she shared transplanted peonies with a neighbour. Today, a row of them runs down the block.

Stephanie Appleby-Jones has made her Nova Scotia garden a place of beauty, biodiversity, and community.