Filled with charmingly rustic illustrations of people, plants and animals, this story about community and biodiversity introduces children to the variety of ways things can grow and flourish in nature.

In the village of Mirren, a tidy community garden is carefully organized and tended by the townspeople. On the other side of the garden wall is a wild patch of land— a jumble of trees, a pond, and tall grassy places. While the garden is cared for in different ways throughout the seasons, Jilly and her grandfather like to visit the wild place, foraging for mushrooms, asparagus, and nuts, and watching the insects, birds and other animals. When the townspeople decide they need a bigger garden, they make plans to expand beyond the wall into the wild place. Worried about what will happen to their special piece of nature, Jilly and her grandfather come up with a plan, inviting the townspeople to discover a new kind of gardening. Their plan works and the wild place and the community garden merge harmoniously; the bees pollinate the crops, berry bushes take over a garden corner, pumpkins grow along the pond, and delicious herbs appear among the ferns. Cynthia Cliff's lovingly detailed illustrations reveal the joys of every kind of garden, while her story offers endless opportunities to talk about healthy eating, nature, ecological gardening, and friendship.

本书插图迷人、纯朴，讲述了关于社区和生物多样性的故事，向孩子们介绍了自然界中事物生长和繁荣的各种方式。

在米伦村，村民们精心组织和打理着一个整洁的社区花园。花园墙的另一边是一片荒地，布满杂乱的树木、池塘和高高的草丛。花园一年四季都照料得很好，但吉莉和祖父更喜欢去那片荒地，觅食蘑菇、芦笋和坚果，观察昆虫、鸟和其他动物。当村民们需要一个更大的花园时，他们就计划把花园扩展到墙外的荒地。吉莉和祖父担心他们那片特殊的自然环境会遭到破坏，于是想出了一个计划，邀请村民们发现一种新的园艺方式。他们的计划成功了，荒地和社区花园和谐地融合在一起；蜜蜂为农作物授粉，浆果丛占据了花园的一角，南瓜沿着池塘生长，美味的药草出现在蕨类植物中。辛西娅·克里夫（Cynthia Cliff）可爱的插图揭示了每种花园的乐趣，而她的故事谈论了健康饮食、自然、生态园艺和友谊。