A neurodivergent woman sets out to find the father she’s never met—and, in the process, uncovers a surprising bond with a much younger half-brother who seems to understand her in ways no one else ever has, or even tried to.
June views the world differently than others. A keen horticulturist, she can name every flower species beginning with the letter J. Yet, when it comes to the nature of people and relationships, she's still cultivating an understanding.
Following her mother's unexpected death, June must vacate her home. But when the social worker urges her to move into a flat with no garden—clearly, she can’t live there. With no other viable living arrangement, she embarks on her first solo trip from Glasgow to London in search of a father she’s only seen in an old photograph. When she unexpectedly shows up at his door, he panics and turns her away, unwilling to jeopardize his idyllic London life and new family, whom he lives with on a street lined with Japanese Dawn Redwood trees...and an unruly backyard garden.
With nowhere else to go, June quietly moves into the yellow shed in his garden, where she can once again spend her days comforted by the solace of cultivation. There, she reluctantly forges a new friendship with her twelve-year-old half-brother and the family dog, who keep her residence a secret and, in turn, she works to revitalize the overgrown space.
Over the course of a balmy summer in London, June is forced to process a myriad of changes in her life—some fraught with pain, while others carrying possibilities for meaningful connections and joy. And, if she ever stands a chance of connecting with her father, and with herself, she must embrace them all.
A beautiful and heartwarming portrait of a young woman who looks at the world differently, June in the Garden encourages others to do the same. Because thinking unconventionally is not a flaw, it’s often the key to appreciating the wonder and bloom that surrounds us.
