It’s a blessing to have a nonno, and Jaclyn Crupi should know: she had two of them. In this delightful follow-up to Nonna Knows Best, Jaclyn shares the hard-earned wisdom of her Italian grandfathers – and what she’s learned about gardening your way to la dolce vita. Many of us have turned to our own backyards since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. 

Featuring gardening tips and tricks for tiny balconies to sprawling backyards, as well as recipes for preserving your produce and classic nonno sayings, Garden Like a Nonno will help you get in touch with your inner Italian – and teach you how to grow tomatoes so good you’ll never even look at a supermarket variety again. 

‘I was fortunate enough to garden with my nonnos from a very young age, and they taught me everything I know about gardening,’ said Jaclyn. ‘The resilience and knowledge they passed on has given me not only a garden full of food and a well-stocked larder, but a piano, piano (slowly, slowly) approach to life that comes in handy in these rapidly changing times.’

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About the author and illustrator

Jaclyn Crupi is a bookseller in Melbourne and a freelance book editor and project manager. She has written numerous children’s books ranging from board books for babies to fiction for middle graders to craft kits for tweens and teens. Jaclyn has worked in publishing and bookselling since 2002.

Felicita Sala is a self-taught illustrator. She was born in Rome but grew up in Perth, where she graduated in Philosophy from the University of Western Australia. One of her books was selected among the best 10 illustrated books by the New York Times in 2018.