With his usual endearing, self-effacing wit, Des Kennedy captures the natural rhythms and rumblings of a year in his garden on British Columbia’s Denman Island. For the past 36 years, Des and his partner, Sandy, have lived in their hand-hewn home, enjoying their intimate contact with the Earth, its creatures, and the changing seasons. The book’s 52 chapters explore, week by week, the Kennedys’ triumphs, failures, mishaps, and magic during a year-long dance with nature.

Kennedy infuses his gardening journey with rich insights, humor, and adventures. The effects of devastating snow storms; the slow food cuisine of rutabagas, parsnips, and carrots; the gardener’s inalienable right to dress in rags; the outlandish behavior and florid oratory induced by flowering poppies—these and scores of other themes meander through the book’s gardening year in ways that alternately inform, inspire, and amuse.

“Des Kennedy is not only a master gardener, gifted speaker, and irascible raconteur, he is also a fine writer whose maniacal humour and selfless humility inform every page of this remarkable book. The beauty of our real and imagined gardens is given to us with honesty and affection. He is simply one of our best, and this book a treasure to own.”—Patrick Lane, author of There Is a Season