In a derelict neighbourhood of Cleveland, a young girl who was born after her father’s death decides to plant some Lima beans in a lot filled with rubbish so that her father, who used to be a farmer, would see her work, her patience, and her perseverance. Little by little, other inhabitants of the buildings around the lot come to plant something : tomatoes for a lost lover, pumpkins to sell, flowers to look at. Someone moves heaven and earth to get the lot cleaned by the city, and someone challenges the children to find a solution to bring water to the lot. Thirteen different people with their own stories that meet around friendship, help, joy, and little successes. A beautiful book.
“A fact bobbed up from my memory, that the ancient Egyptians prescribed walking through a garden as a cure for the mad. It was a mind-altering drug we took daily.”