The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

June introduces Alice to the Flowers. The women cheer about June having a granddaughter because she’s secretive about family.

June has yellow bells on Alice’s table, flowers that mean “welcome” to strangers. Alice feels nervous and senses sadness among the women. June shares that the farmland has been in their family for generations.

Alice remembers fairy tales and stories from Agnes, including those with tragic endings. She thinks that her life is like the tragic tales now. When she used to ask Agnes about their family, her mother shushed her and said it was just the three of them and always had been. The subject of family was taboo with Clem, especially.

When Alice thinks of Toby and how no one mentioned her dog, the grief weighs her down again, and she starts crying. June comforts her and carries her upstairs to shower.

In the kitchen, Candy, who is a talented chef, cleans up. Candy was abandoned at Thornfield as a baby, and Twig and June raised her. Candy reminisces about young Clem, who was her best friend and first love. When Clem was 16, Agnes arrived; he forgot about Candy and became obsessed with Agnes. Now, Candy worries about Alice, who still isn’t talking. She’s also concerned that June is drinking more.

At bedtime, Alice finds a blue cupcake and a note from Candy in her room. Candy writes about the color “Alice blue.” When Candy arrived at the farm, she was wrapped in an Alice blue gown. In her favorite fairy tale, a queen always wore this shade of blue. The queen climbed a tree and waited for her husband to return from battle. She waited for so long, she turned into a blue orchid—Candy’s favorite flower. The note and delicious cupcake make Alice giddy because she loves stories. 

Alice wakes up in a cold sweat from night terrors about the fire. She’s clutching Candy’s note. Harry licks her tears. June trained Harry as a therapy dog, so he stays close to Alice.

On her desk, Alice has her own gardening hat and apron stitched with her name in blue, like the other Flowers wear. June enters her room, promising Alice that she is safe now and the farm will heal her hurting. Alice recalls the fire and realizes June is the older woman her father carved over and over. Alice has a panic attack.

Twig calls the hospital, and Alice’s nurse Brooke explains panic attacks. Twig looks after Alice while June drives into town to enroll Alice in school. Twig suggests that Alice needs rest and a therapist, not school. June disagrees.

Candy and Twig take care of Alice. Candy bakes her favorite biscuits, then shows Alice around the flower farm. Because Candy is playful and kind, Alice likes her right away.

A past Flower named Boryana and her son visit briefly. The boy is about Alice’s age, and she likes that he’s reading a book. He waves at her, and Alice feels attracted to him.

Candy gives her a tour, calling the flowers magic. Alice is mesmerized by the flower workshop and how flowers have a language. Candy asks if she wants to see the river.

Since Alice misses the sea, she’s thrilled to go to the river. Candy has to get back to cook dinner, so she trusts that Alice can go alone. Candy repeats the directions multiple times, with Alice nodding along.

When she arrives at the river, she feels renewed and at home, reminded of her life with Agnes by the sea. A gigantic tree near the river is carved with names of people in her family, including June Hart. Other names are scratched off.

Though Alice promised Candy she wouldn’t swim, she can’t resist. She strips down to her underwear and basks in the river. She holds her breath for too long, then struggles to shore. The boy from earlier, Oggi, swims across the river to help her. After Alice’s panic passes, he looks away so that she can change. Alice appreciates Oggi’s kindness.

That night, Twig teaches Alice commands for Harry. He’s trained to stay close, click lights on, etc.

June tells Alice about enrolling her in school, which is allowing Harry to come along for support. Alice is nervous but excited.

The week before Alice starts school, she follows the Flowers and helps them work. She learns to assist with bouquets, make rosewater, and bake. Alice starts to understand the language of flowers, like how they can symbolize messages and speak for the women. She begins to feel at home.

June thinks about her family’s past and what she should tell Alice. Ruth Stone, June’s grandmother, started the farm from nothing. She was sold off and married to Wade, an abusive, drunken man, but she had a lover, Jacob, whom she met at the river. Ruth got pregnant with Jacob, so Wade drowned Jacob in the river in front of her. Ruth was mentally unwell after losing Jacob. Ruth’s daughter, Wattle, was June’s mother. June imagines that Wattle would tell her Ruth sacrificed so much for the farm and that Alice should know its history, but June pushes away the memories.

On Alice’s first day of school, Alice, Harry, and June wait to meet her teacher. Alice is anxious but comforted to have Harry as a friend. When Harry farts, the smell is awful. They laugh, but Alice decides she should go with her teacher alone—in case Harry farts again. Her teacher asks her to be the library helper, which Alice adores.

Candy picks Alice up from school. Oggi is being picked on by bullies. Candy takes him home to his mom Boryana so that he can get first aid. After Boryana tends to him, Oggi takes Alice to the river again. He explains that his family is from Bulgaria. His father died recently, so they can’t go back, and they have to hide as immigrants. He’s picked on for his culture. Alice feels connected to him, and her crush grows stronger.

Over the next few weeks, Alice adjusts. Though she doesn’t speak, she smiles more, reads often, and helps Candy and Twig around the farm. She hasn’t wet the bed or had another panic attack. June is pleased that Alice is improving, but she wonders if Alice knows why her father left Thornfield. June and Clem had a falling out; because Agnes loved Clem more than herself, she ran off with him.

June recalls that her mother, Wattle, lived with Wade’s abuse and Ruth’s mental absence. A doctor in town named Lucas Hart was interested in Wattle, but he wasn’t brave enough to pursue her—until he heard a gunshot on the farm. Lucas rushed over and found Wattle over her father’s body. The two covered up the murder and said that he died by suicide, and Lucas and Wattle married soon after. Wattle, Lucas, and Ruth regrew the flower farm, letting it flourish. Ruth visited the river often, where she talked to Jacob, her lost love. Ruth died when June was three years old.

During the school’s holiday break, Alice gets more books from the library to do a book report. She chooses her favorite selkie book and Alice in Wonderland, in which she finds a detailed love note from Clem to Agnes. Alice is furious. She never knew Agnes was from Thornfield, how her parents met, or why she was never introduced to June.

She pushes Candy and Harry out of her room, but she lets June in later. When June tries to comfort her, Alice erupts. She throws the book at June, kicks, bites, and cries. June doesn’t fight back.