While its name connotes a pastoral vision beyond a pleasant wide place in the road, Garden Grove has expanded exponentially since pioneers founded it in 1874. Early cattle ranches gave way to walnut and citrus groves during the 20th century, as this land between the cities of Long Beach and Anaheim grew into one of Orange County's most populous municipalities, incorporating in 1956. Hotels sprang up in Garden Grove in reaction to the nearby vacation draws of Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and the county's popular beach communities. In later decades, Garden Grove's distinctive identity was further shaped by its role as home to one of the largest Korean-American communities outside of Korea and home to televangelist Robert Schuller's famed Crystal Cathedral.

Soon after Alonzo Gerry Cook arrived in the Santa Ana Valley in 1874, he established a small crossroads village among the barren plains of coastal Southern California. With little more than a church, school and post office, he planted the seeds of a community that reinvented itself through times of decline and development, disaster and triumph. When the railroad arrived in 1905, the population doubled. The town flourished as an agricultural hub thanks to the bounties of oranges, walnuts, chili peppers and the crop that earned the city's nickname--the strawberry. Despite damage from the Long Beach earthquake of 1933, the postwar years witnessed booming development, and today, Garden Grove exists as a celebrated part of Orange County. Longtime resident and author Jim Tortolano tells the complete story of a resilient community and its memories, people, places and events that have stood the test of time.

*** 'The best gardening book of 2022.' The Telegraph 'A book to make even a quick trip to the corner shop endlessly fascinating. Dark has been dubbed the millennial Monty Don for this beautifully written study of the oft-overlooked nature on our doorsteps...Dark teases the drama, humour and history from even the most commonplace buddleja, box and tulip.' George Hudson, Evening Standard, Favourite Gardening Books of the Year 'This enjoyable read throws a spotlight on the everyday.' Rachel De Thame's 10 Best Gardening Books of 2022, the Sunday Times 'Gardening for a billionaire taught Ben Dark that "plants alone are not enough to make a garden special". Instead he finds "special" in the people and the history, as well as the plants, that fill 191⁄2 London front gardens. A soulful read. Tom Howard, RHS The Garden, Best Books of The Year 'A wonderful book.' Alexandra Shulman, Mail on Sunday 'Meet the millennial Monty Don.' The Sunday Times Style 'Ben Dark's beautifully observed book, The Grove: A Nature Odyssey in 19 1⁄2 Front Gardens, tells the stories of 20 key plants growing in a single London street's front gardens in a way that's as engaging as it is informative.' The Irish Times Any walk is an odyssey when we connect with the plants around us. Each tree or flower tells a tale. Mundane 'suburban' shrubs speak of war and poetry, of money, fashion, love and failure. Every species in this book was seen from one pavement over twelve months and there is little here that could not be found on any road in any town, but they reveal stories of such weirdness, drama, passion and humour that, once discovered, familiar neighbourhoods will be changed forever. There is a renewed interest in the nature on our doorsteps, as can be seen in the work of amateur botanists identifying wildflowers and chalking the names on the pavements. But beyond the garden wall lies a wealth of cultivated plants, each with a unique tale to tell. In The Grove, award-winning writer and head gardener Ben Dark reveals the remarkable secrets of twenty commonly found species - including the rose, wisteria, buddleja, box and the tulip - encountered in the front gardens of one London street over the course of year. As Ben writes, in those small front gardens 'are stories of ambition, envy, hope and failure' and The Grove is about so much more than a single street, or indeed the plants found in its 19 1⁄2 front gardens. It's a beguiling blend of horticultural history and personal narrative and a lyrical exploration of why gardens and gardening matter.

Monograph on Raymond Jungles, a contemporary landscape architect based in Miami known for innovative but timeless design and a commitment to ethical stewardship of the land. For almost 40 years, Raymond Jungles has generated design solutions that respond to surrounding natural systems while restoring nature's balance and harmony on a micro-scale. His completed gardens personify timelessness and beauty, with verdant spaces that entice participation and soothe the psyche. This monograph, the fourth to focus on his work, will present 21 completed projects, along with a section of work in progress featuring sketches, renderings, and site plans of 12 current projects of varying typologies including an 18-acre Phipps Ocean Park in the Town of Palm Beach, Florida. Among the featured works are major landscapes surrounding luxury residential complexes as well as lush private gardens from the mountains in Mexico to volcanic craters in Panama, Caribbean beachfronts, the Florida Keys, and densely populated cities like Manhattan and Miami. Highlights include the restoration of the famed interior garden by the revered landscape architect Dan Kiley at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice in New York; a landscape to evoke the work of legendary Brazilian designer Roberto Burle Marx at the New York Botanical Garden, and two new gardens at the the Naples Botanical Garden. Founded in 1985 by Raymond Jungles, the firm’s design priorities are generated by the scale and functionality of a space. Simple, clean, and well-detailed hardscape elements are the quintessential bones of a garden. Planting volumes vary and bold colors and textures are used with intent. The firm is guided by Raymond’s personal and design principles: integrity, relevance, and nature’s honor. Their informed designs tread lightly on the land, provide habitat, and incorporate elements of surprise.

A story of crime and punishment.

Following the death of her father and a move to a backwater Missouri town, Eliza realizes that her desperate attempts to be popular are being thwarted by her growing closeness with an eccentric neighbor, Dierdre. When school starts and Eliza begins to be included in the popular crowd, she leaves Dierdre behind. But then Dierdre's world begins to crumble, and Eliza learns some unsettling things about her new friends. Will Eliza choose popularity over true friendship? -- This novel...tells many truths about adolescents trying to discover their places in the world. -- School Library Journal, starred reviewA multilayered book with memorable characters and humorous as well as poignant situations. -- Horn Book