This book gripped me right from the beginning. The descriptions of the flowers for each season, the gardens, and the scents made me feel like I was living on Lake Michigan. Right from the beginning of the book I was rooting for the Iris, Abby, Cory, and Lily to help each other overcome the past and become a "family". I especially liked the relationship between Iris and Lily! This is a wonderful story of love and support! I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to #netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy. I will be looking for more Viola Shipman books to read!

Let me start off by saying that I'm not a gardener. I have a few indoor succulents that have lasted more than six months, which is a personal best for me. I tried a garden last spring and was delighted that anything came up, but it wasn't a success. That said, I really enjoyed The Heirloom Garden, particularly because of the love and care the characters put into their gardens, and the author's lovely descriptions of flowers.

Of course, this novel is more than floral descriptions. Iris is an elderly shut-in, still traumatized by the sudden deaths of her soldier husband and her young daughter. Abby is a mother and wife, with a husband suffering from PTSD after his time in Iraq. This novel is about trauma and war, grief and loss, found families, and hope. I loved the tender relationship between these characters, and the overall message.

I did stumble sometimes over the characters' conversations. Usually they flowed and felt very natural, but at times one or the other would get on a soapbox and begin lecturing in a very formal, very uncharacteristic manner. I found this happened especially when discussing gender inequality at the workplace. I'm all for discussions about this subject, but it felt more like a professor lecturing, rather than an organic conversation based on mutual experiences.

Other than that, I was hooked! And against my better judgement, I'm inspired to try a flower garden of my own in the spring.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC.

I am a huge fan of this author and this book did not disappoint When I saw the opportunity to read and review I immediately moved it to the top of my TBR list. And I recommend you do the same !

While we enjoyed a few days of mild weather at the end of February and I itched to get my hands dirty (an urge that generally passes by July) I had to console myself with the slow-paced delights of The Heirloom Garden by Viola Shipman (which, by the way, I discovered is a nom de pleume the same time I finished the book.)

While I am, self-admittedly, an emotional reader, this sweet and poignant story pulled each of my heartstrings. Shipman paints a vivid picture of glorious garden splendor, damaged souls, and the healing power of friendship. Scars of war effect a family and a neighbor as they come to grips with new normals and build foundations for a happier future.

Picturesque descriptions of plants, strong female leads, and a fantastic setting (hello, Great Lakes Michigan resort town!) will have you craving cottages and sand dunes and friends with old souls. The Heirloom Garden flips between eras and character perspective, providing a beautiful depiction of strength and hope through intergenerational storytelling and an emphasis on treasuring memories and heirlooms through love and loss.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a complimentary Advanced Readers Copy through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Heirloom Garden by Viola Shipman
Book starts with authors praise from other works.
Starts out with Iris and she has a victory garden as to so many during the war. It was the only way to get food, rest had to go to the soldier fighting the war.
There is so much you will walk away with after reading this book. Iris raised the victory garden for the town and needs to get over her anxiety and has no resting place for her spouse, Abby needs encouragement to be strong to do the things she needs to do,
Cory needs to get over his anxiety after returning from the war.
Parts that got to me where the monthly visits to the garden as I have so many of the same flowers-what a beautiful year of flowers.
2000's
Abby married to Cory, back from the war live in MI and have Lily
Cory is damaged and she can't trust him to take care of girl. Abby works at paint for boat place.
Story goes back to 1940's
Iris and she lost her spouse Jonathan, then Mary to the war. She recalls her dad tending to vegetable garden while her mom tended to flowers.
She went to college for botany and knows all about flowers. She still makes Mary a cake and brings it to where the trillium grow to remind her of when she was born.
I have a handful of the ones mentioned in the book and can't imagine how stunning the garden would look if I had the same flowers growing.
Love the part about how the flowers tell a story as do mine, especially where they came from
Current date and we find Iris in her own cottage with high fence with her flowers and greenhouse. She also owns the house next door
where Cory and Abby and their little girl Iris live.
Like hearing how she hybridizes, love cross planting and how to use the nylons.
Ends with acknowledgements and discussion questions.
A book to treasure! A KEEPER!
Received this review copy from HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada)
Graydon House via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
#TheHeirloomGarden #NetGalley

The Heirloom Garden is a very heartwarming story with so much going on.
There is hope, love, sadness, loss, survival, PTSD and empowerment of woman. The characters are real, likable and ones you want to have in your own life.
There is two time lines within the story....1944 with Iris, her husband and young daughter and 2003 with Abby, her husband and young daughter. Iris rents a house to Abby which begins a heartfelt friendship no one expected. They are drawn together through their love for flowers and love of family.
I shed more then a few tears reading this story. So many relatable moments.
The Heirloom Garden will be a wonderful summer, beach read.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author, Viola Shipman, for the opportunity to read and give my honest review about this book.

The Heirloom Garden is a touching story. One stems from WWII while the other is in 2003. I liked all the flowers spoke about in the garden. Peonies and hydrangeas are two of my favorites. The writing wa solid and fluid, there was a lot of character development. It's a good read

The Heirloom Garden by Viola Shipman is another story that will touch your heart in several different ways! This author always writes stories that reach the very core of family, true feelings of love and overcoming the great disappointments in lives. The bitterness and loss of war always break the hearts of families across the world. In The Heirloom Garden, there are two women who are trying to survive the best way possible as they come to terms with the aftermath of how war has affected their family. Iris has suffered great losses, her young husband in WWII and her only daughter, Mary died with polio. Iris railed against the effects of war on humanity and was labeled a protester and a traitor. Iris walled herself away from the world and created her own reality in her magnificent gardens.
Abby is a young engineer with creative ideas, a young daughter, and a troubled husband home from Iraq. Life is hard and she does not know how to save her family and help her husband through the debilitating PTSD and his withdrawal from the public. To make her life even more disappointing, at work her formulas for a beautiful new paint has been reassigned to another employee. She knows she will never advance at this company, but the is the sole support for her family.
This story has so many beautiful scenes, of lives being transformed by the power of botany, patience, and the healing of souls and spirits. I loved this story and the characters!

This is another fantastic book by Viola Shipman. I started it as soon as it showed up in my mailbox, even though I had a stack of books that should have been read first but this is one of my 'go to' authors and I had to read it right away. I am a huge fan of books about Michigan and books that take place on Lake Michigan always tug at my heart because of all the summers that I spent at the Lake growing up. This author describes the area around Lake Michigan so well and so beautifully that it is an integral part of the story - as important as the characters. I loved this book and think it will be one of the "must read" books of Spring, 2020.

The story is told in dual time lines and in different eras.

1944 - Iris lost her husband in WWII and her daughter not too long after that. Her grief caused her to put walls up around her house and around her heart. She doesn't have anything to do with the people in town, has her groceries and garden supplies delivered and is only really alive when she is spending time in her beloved gardens. In her gardens, she re-lives her memories of her grandmother, her mother, her husband and her daughter -- the garden becomes her only family.

2003 - Abby, her husband and their daughter, Lily, move from the Detroit area to Grand Haven for Abby to take a new job. They rent the house next door to Iris (which Iris still owns) but the high fences let them know that Iris has no desire for company or friendly neighbors. Abby is trying to handle everything - her husband has PTSD and is unable to contribute to the family either emotionally or monetarily. Instead he mostly sleeps, drinks and re-lives his memories of war. Lily tries to make the best of things but she is lonely and nervous about starting at a new school with no friends. The two families are slowly drawn together at first through their love for flowers and then through the friendship that they can both bring to each other.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Have loved any book so far from this author and happy to say loved this one too. A touching story and heartwarming story.

This is a wonderful book! Thanks to net galley far the arc. I have read Viola Shipman books in the past and never been disappointed. I am not a gardener but I loved being in Iris' garden! This book is about hope, love, second chances , and surviving whatever happens in life. I highly recommend it to everyone!

I received an ARC from Net Galley. I absolutely love this story. Every chapter focuses on a flower. Great background information on each flower. The story will tug at your heartstrings. I look forward to holding my preordered book in my hands in April. It is my book clubs pick for July. Viola Shipman know how to use language to evoke feelings. I love the whole “series” of stories connecting families through generations.

I have several authors who I run, don’t walk, to get the book when it first comes out. Viola Shipman is one of those authors. When I got approved for this book from NetGalley and the publisher, I immediately had to start the book. This book takes me back to my mother-in-law’s house. Another great book by Viola Shipman! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

There is no doubt that this will be one of my favorite books of the year!
Viola Shipman has written a fantastic, heartfelt and loving novel of family, hope fear, sadness and joy.
. The descriptions of the seasons, flowers,and surroundings are just astounding! It makes you believe you are living on Lake Michigan!
We meet Iris, and her new neighbors Lily, Abby and Cory in Michigan.
Iris, now elderly, has no intentions of knowing her new neighbors. The wall has been built both around her home and her heart and she needs to keep people away and out of her life. Too many tragedies!
Her garden blossoms are her family and friends. The love for each and every floret is extreme, but it keeps her "going".
However, the little girl named Lily, is curious and soon not only finds a way in to Iris's garden, but in to her heart.
I love the relationship between these two beautiful souls. Lily learns from Iris and Iris learns from Lily.
"All any of us- whether people or flowers-desire is to feel a part of something bigger, to know our stories won't die."
This is THAT story of true love! Excellent!

What a beautiful, beautiful book. Viola Shipman has written some beautiful books. This is, so far, the very best. I felt as though I was right there seeing and smelling the flowers in Iris' garden and would stay there forever if possible. Additionally, the research (regarding a variety of topics) is meticulous and interesting; adding another level of loveliness to the story. The characters are people i would enjoy knowing and I found their conversations compelling and comforting.

I became a Viola Shipman fan with the first book I read by him. This one is no exception! Great, great story. He makes you feel as if you are part of the story, part of the family. By the end of the story you feel as if you know each character personally and I was sad to see it end. The research that went into this is amazing - his knowledge of all the flowers, time periods, etc. As with all of his other titles I could not put this down. Highly recommend if you are looking for a great story.

Viola Shipman does an incredible job of depicting Michigan! You can practically smell the flowers described in Iris' garden. A wonderful story full of hope, rebuilding, and how to have hope after tragic loss.