John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden

Upon return from a trip to Kyoto, Japan in 1960, John Portner Humes, a lawyer then ambassador, began work on a Japanese garden.

[3] The garden was designed between 1962 and 1965 by Douglas and Jone DeFaya who used Japanese shrubs, trees and ground cover as well as symbolic placement of stones.

[5][3] The sandalwood tea house was prefabricated in Taiwan and featured straw matting and rice paper door panels.

[10] Morrell, a graduate of the New York Botanical Garden School of Horticulture, was sent on study trips twice to Japan by the Humes' [11] Of special interest in the garden are the winding stepping-stone walkways and gravel paths, stone lanterns, bamboo groves, a variety of mosses and a waterfall emptying into a koi pond.

[10] Moving through the garden, where the views, textures and balance of elements have been planned following Japanese aesthetic principles, visitors experience a walking meditation inducing inner peace.

[2] It was operated by the Humes Japanese Garden Foundation until 2017 when The North Shore Land Alliance officially acquired the property on May 23, 2017.

[22] The Garden is part of a conservation corridor owned by the North Shore Land Alliance that covers over 150 acres in the middle of the Beaver Brook watershed.