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 and interspersed with a delightful scattering of pressed flowers, gardening tips and seasonal recipes.

Part memoir, part illustrated garden journal, part cookbook, A Year at Killara Farm truly celebrates a way of life that is intimately tied to the natural world and the rhythm of the seasons. The result is a charming book sure to inspire any gardener.

Christine Allen lived and worked on Killara Farm in Langley, BC, from 1993 to 2006. Since then she and her husband, Michael Kluckner, have lived in Australia, returning to Vancouver in 2010. Allen is a regular contributor to GardenWise and other magazines, and has written a number of books, including Gardens of Vancouver (Raincoast, 2000) and Roses for the Pacific Northwest (Steller, 1999).

Christine Allen's profile page

Michael Kluckner is a Canadian writer and artist. His early books on the history of Canadian cities, heritage, planning issues, and art, include Vancouver The Way It Was, Vanishing Vancouver, Paving Paradise, and British Columbia in Watercolour. He has won numerous awards, including the Duthie Prize, the Vancouver Book Prize, the Toronto Book Prize (short list), the Hallmark Society (Victoria) Award of Merit, and the Heritage Canada Medal of Achievement. In 1991 Michael was the founding president of the Heritage Vancouver Society. From 1996 until 2001, he was the British Columbia member of the board of governors of the Heritage Canada Foundation, and served as chair from 1998 to 2000. Michael chaired the Vancouver Heritage Foundation in 2002-3. He received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 for the contributions made, through books and volunteer efforts, to increasing awareness of Canada's heritage and culture.

Michael Kluckner's profile page