Christine Allen and Michael Kluckner's portrayal of life on Killara Farm moves thoughtfully through a year of gardening with a rich, detailed narrative that evokes the many pleasures of life in rural Southwestern BC.

Allen, a master gardener, is also a lyrical writer, expressing the tiny details of life on the farm--the -winter jasmine, doggedly flowering on the fence by the chicken house, - the excitement of snowdrops opening at the end of January and strategies for ensuring a balance of colour in the foxgloves. Her twelve essays are illuminated by Kluckner's masterful watercolours...