Just Jennifer

The Forbidden Garden by Ellen Herrick

As the Sparrow sisters and their New England coast town of Granite Point slowly heal from recent events, including the near destruction of the Sparrow sisters’ nursery. Sorrel finds herself invited to bring her special gardening gifts to an English country estate where Sir Graham Kirkwood would have her restore a Shakespeare Garden that has lay fallow, perhaps even toxic, for many years.  Graham’s wife Stella is recovering from a serious illness that may have been brought on by her attempts to restore the walled garden.  While Sorrel can feel the grief and sadness emanating from the garden, she does not believe it is cursed.  As Sorrel sets to work learning about the house’s history---much of the story, which is woven into tapestries---she finds an unlikely ally in Graham’s university aged daughter Poppy and in Stella’s brother Andrew, a minister, currently on leave who, like the garden, is filled with sorrow and heartbreak.  Sorrel is determined to heal the garden and bring it back to its former glory, perhaps at the same time helping Andrew to heal, and healing parts of herself that are still broken.  This lush story is filled with history, plant lore, Shakespearean references and English tradition.  The characters are quirky and will quickly become beloved to readers, even with Sorrel’s sisters across the Atlantic, available only through Skype.  Add in the mystery of the tapestry and the “curse” of the garden, this inviting book will draw readers in and have the air filled with the heady scents of the flowers.