In 'Maximum Green II,' readers learn a lot about gardening, botany, lawn care, Latin binomials of flowers and shrubs, and organic methods.
The intrigue of the novel, however, is in the human drama developing when the motley, fly-by-night landscaping crew tries to overcome devastating natural setbacks and nasty clients. Recently discharged Army veterans Max Green and his buddy Melvin Watt start Maximum Green Design Co. to overcome their wartime jitters with the calming promise of gardening. It is the mid-1970s. They are both broke and unemployed. Melvin had been a gung-ho combat soldier who now lives with and cares for his grandfather. Max had a desk job in Saigon, hated war, but was drafted after earning a college diploma in horticulture. Still best friends since high school, Max and Mel turn to horticulture. They launch MGD Co. at a 56-acre, waterfront property once owned by Lord Baltimore, where Max caretakes for only $100 a month.
Max and Mel struggle trying to supervise and train their cheap labor crew of precocious teenage boys. As their landscaping jobs for affluent clients increase in complexity and risks, their business is threatened by crooked realtors, fistfights, floods, property damage, lawsuits, and even murderers.
Max brings to the green startup his advanced education in horticulture and the business acumen from his mom, the local flower shop legend, Miriam Green. Melvin brings grit, strong leadership skills, and imaginative ideas on difficult jobs. Their misadventures are child's play, they figure, compared with their warfare jobs. They slug along willingly. Working with nature, Max says, is the perfect occupation for thinking through problems and coming up with wise solutions.
