Garden Variety By Christy Wilhelmi

 

If you thought community gardening was nothing but pulling weeds and planting seeds think again. In this fresh and delightful debut, Christy Wilhelmi shows that there’s more to gardening than merely keeping pests at bay …

Each time Lizzie steps through the gates of the Vista Mar Community Gardens, she knows she’s left the chaos of the outside world behind. Here, the rows are even, tools are properly stored, and each season brings new life. But even the shiniest apple can hide a worm, and behind the leafy green façade there is hidden heartbreak, tomato hornworms, and inter-garden political powerplays.

And to make things worse—a long forgotten loophole enacted by a nasty neighbor brings the outside world crashing in. The members are feuding, Lizzie’s budding romance is wilting on the vine, and the very existence of Vista Mar is threatened. Can Lizzie and her fellow gardeners fight to save their urban oasis while they struggle to stay grounded in this chaotic city? 

Garden Variety is as much about growing food and flowers as it is about life’s growing pains, and how a community rallies and comes together to save their own. 

Pick up your copy here...

Garden Variety: A Novel: Wilhelmi, Christy: 9780063113480: Amazon.com: Books

Christy Wilhelmi empowers people to grow their own food, to be more self-reliant, and to reduce pollution and waste, one garden at a time. Christy is founder of Gardenerd, the ultimate resource for garden nerds, where she publishes newsletters, her popular blog, and podcasts. She also specializes in small-space, organic vegetable garden design and consulting. She holds regular organic gardening classes in California, and was a board member of Ocean View Farms Organic Community Garden in Mar Vista, California for over 20 years. Between 70-80 percent of her family's produce comes from her garden of less than 200 square feet. She is author of Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden (Cool Springs Press); Gardening for Geeks (Fox Chapel); 400+ Tips for Organic Gardening Success: A Decade of Tricks, Tools, Recipes, and Resources from Gardenerd.com (Amazon Kindle); and her debut novel, Garden Variety (William Morrow). 

My Thoughts...

This made me long for a community that has a garden. This was a fun, fast read and you would never know it was Wilhelmi's debut book.  Not only was this an entertaining read but also very educational as well.

I would give this 4-stars and I recommend it.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.