In this warm and humorous novel, narrator Joseph Jones leads us into the world of Upshot Island, an imaginary place off the coast of British Columbia. Joseph's life takes an interesting turn when members of the local garden club decide to take part in the effort to save the Kumquat Sound rain forest. What starts out as a peaceful pilgrimage turns into an outrageous adventure. Along the way, readers will meet the strange characters who inhabit Upshot Island, such as Elvira Stone who believes her missing husband was abducted by a UFO and Waddy Watts, a cantankerous old-timer who predicts the next rainfall by the sound of the frogs. Award-winning garden writer Des Kennedy's descriptions of coastal plants create a perfect natural environment for the story. His intriguing narrative delves into realms of mystery, death, and love. With a foreword by Des added to this new edition, The Garden Club is a must-have for all lovers of the outdoors.

Des Kennedy is a novelist, essayist and veteran back-to-the-lander. The author of nine previous books, in both fiction and non-fiction, he has been three times nominated for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. He’s contributed many articles on environmental issues, gardening and rural living to a wide variety of publications in Canada and the United States, and has been featured on numerous regional and national television and radio programs. A celebrated speaker, known for his passion and irreverent wit, he’s performed at conferences, schools, festivals, botanical gardens, art galleries, garden shows and wilderness gatherings. Active for many years in environmental and social justice issues, he was an organizer of the successful civil disobedience campaign in Strathcona Provincial Park in 1988 and was recognized as a key supporter in the struggle to save Clayoquot Sound. In the ’70s and early ’80s, he lived and worked with two First Nations bands attempting to defend their traditional territories in north-central B.C. against industrial clear-cutting. In the ’90s he was a founding director of a successful community land trust on Denman Island. Des and his partner Sandy live a conserver lifestyle in their hand-built house surrounded by gardens and woodlands.

Des Kennedy's profile page