Everyone is coming to Jackson Jones's tenth birthday party--his best friend, Reuben, and his grandmother, Miz Lady, from Apartment 316; Juana Rivera from 506 with her kid sister, Gaby, and tag-along brother, Ro; and Abraham from 219. Jackson can't wait until Mama gives him the present he's been dying for: the basketball of his dreams. But Jackson feels as "flat as a basketball hit by a Mack truck," when his mother's present ends up being a garden plot in the Rooter's Community Garden. Who would want nothing but a big mess of trouble and weeds?
Lucklily Jackson knows how to make the best of a bad situation. He comes up with a money-making scheme for the garden and he even cuts his friends in on the action. But Jackson quickly learns that friends and business don't always mix, and when the neighborhood bully starts calling him "Bouquet Jones," Jackson is ready to give up. Will Jackson's city garden become a total disaster? Or will the garden bring him some friendship, wisdom, and maybe even a basketball after all?