★One of the most successful Italian authors. With 500.000 copies sold around the world. Translated in 26 countries.
★They separated us, but our destiny awaits us, because amidst the thorns, every rose grows stronger

The Garden of Secret Flowers is the story of a relationship which - no matter what happens - nothing can destroy. Of two girls who retrieve their lost roots. Because even the frailest of buds can produce petals full of love.
London, Chelsea Flower Show, the world’s biggest flower show. Beneath the arches laden with roses and amongst the compositions of poppies and daisies, Iris Donati feels happy. For her, flowers and plants represent shelter – she feels at home amongst them. A real home, like the one she never had, because ever since she was a young child she lived alone with her father, travelling the world. As she bends down to get a better look at the markings on a peony, Iris is transfixed. Right opposite her are two eyes. Identical to her own. The same brown hair. The same face, The girl in front of her is identical to her in every way. Her name is Viola. She, too, loves flowers and her bouquets are in great demand in London. All Iris’s certainties collapse instantly. The girl is her twin sister. They were separated as babies and for twenty years neither knew of the other’s existence. Why not? Now that they are reunited, Iris and Viola must find out. The secret is hidden in Volterra, Italy, where they were born. Amongst the paths lined with cypress trees and the green slopes, there is an ancient house. An impressive villa surrounded by a vast garden. It is here that the Donatis have lived for generations. And it is here that Giulia Donati, their grandmother, is expecting them. She has to help them find the right path to fulfil their destiny. Because each pair of twins born to the family must fulfil the task they have been set. To care for the garden and be the guardians of the thousand-year Rose. The path is filled with obstacles and there are secret rooms in the villa that conceal a mystery. And nothing is what it seems to be amongst the rose bushes. Only together can Iris and Viola face the difficulties. The answer lies in the garden. Because the most precious of hearts is born amongst the thorns.

Cristina Caboni lives with her husband and three children in the province of Cagliari, where she looks after the family bee-keeping business. She is the
author of the novels The Secret Ways of Perfume – a world bestseller adored by readers and the press alike, which reached the top of the bestseller lists in Italy and abroad – The Keeper of Bees and Honey and The Garden of Secret Flowers, Selezione Bancarella Award 2017.