Paul Fleischman's novel Seedfolks is set up as thirteen character vignettes all centered around the community garden that is started by Kim, the first character introduced in the novel.

Kim's family is Vietnamese. As the book begins, she is standing before the family altar. Candles and incense have been lit to mark the anniversary of Kim's father's death. She is awakened in the night by the crying of her mother and her older sister. Kim says:

I'd been awakened by my mother's crying. My oldest sister had joined in. My own tears had then come as well, but for a different reason.

Kim's tears are for the memories she will never have of her father. Her mother was pregnant with Kim when her father died. She grieves because she will never know the differing angles of his face or know what his hands felt like.

Kim makes the decision to plant the lima beans in the vacant lot because she knows her father was a farmer. In her family's religion, they believe that the spirits of their deceased loved ones come to the altars. Kim believes her father will be able to see her plant and her care for the beans she planted, and in this way, she will have a real connection to her father.