An interest in horticulture starts for April Ames of Connecticut when she meets a new friend, Marilee Dean, whose father operates a nursery. Along with Marilee, April meets her brother Don and soon the Deans and their way of life offer a security and an interest that April never quite experienced with her parents, who are realtors and interior decorators, whose hobby of restoring old houses has kept them on the move. Yet even with April's lack of funds to buy flowers and Don's entry into the Army, there is a simple solution: the Ames find their ""dream house"", a birthday present from Don brings orchids and there is a plan for April to continue her studies at Cornell. Nevertheless these customs and cuttings are more of a corsage than a well cultivated garden.