2013 Winner of the Silver Moonbeam Children's Book Award For Picture Book ('All Ages' Category). During Japan's Heian period, a time characterized and marked by a focus on aesthetic pursuits, an imperial magistrate retires early to cultivate rare and delicate plants on an abandoned property. In his enthusiasm, he may have underestimated the power of nature and its ability to foil human attempts to shape it. The story borrows its format from traditional tales to explore the contemporary dilemma posed by invasive species, as well as the timeless question of man's relation to the natural world.