The MagiK Garden

17 July

I have a massive announcement and update to make! On Tuesday morning, I took two exams, core plus category, to become a commercial pesticide applicator. I finally got the results today, and I've passed! That means I can now register The MagiK Garden a pesticide application business.

These tests were the biggest hurdle. Soon I'll make another announcement when everything is set in place so I can start making appointments to help others come up with their own IPM plans and provide any necessary herbicide treatments to take back control from invasive plants.

17 July

That way, you'll finally have room to plant more native species! Luckily, I've also got that covered.

After a decade of battling invasive species mechanically on my own property (I absolutely REFUSED to touch ANY chemicals), I came to terms with and learned to appreciate how herbicides can be utilized to get the situation under control. I've seen that same desperation in others.

17 July

Modern education and materials surrounding the use of pesticides (which includes herbicides) stresses implementing IPM. Instead of reaching for chem, you first try to exhaust all other options. I love IPM. That's why I thought the photos of lacewing eggs were appropriate for this announcement.

themagikgarden.comGarden Journal Week 28, 2026Garden Journal Week 28, 2026 Restoring Woodland Soil, Botanizing at Valley Forge, Planting The Woods How To Restore Woodland Soil This topic is a bit unusual for my garden journal...

13 July

Garden Journal Week 28, 2026 Garden Journal Week 28, 2026 Restoring Woodland Soil, Botanizing at Valley Forge, Planting The Woods How To Restore Woodland Soil This topic is a bit unusual for my garden...

13 July

The Garden Journal post for Week 28 (last week) is up! Features what's in bloom this week as well as a how-to guide on restoring woodland soil. Restoring soil is priority to restoring habitat, and the approach depends on site conditions. themagikgarden.com/garden-journ...

themagikgarden.comGarden Journal Week 27, 2026surviving the heatwave, studying for pesticide applicator certification, bumping up plants, slow down

13 July

Garden Journal Week 27, 2026 surviving the heatwave, studying for pesticide applicator certification, bumping up plants, slow...

7 July

Sida hermaphrodita is a highly underrated species that is both beautiful in the garden and extremely utilitarian. For some reason it's endangered in the US, but you can use it like hemp. As usual, Europeans seem to appreciate our native plants more than we do, and we need to change that.

6 July

Garden Journal Wk 27 (highlights from the previous week) is live, including a more comprehensive list of what's in bloom in my garden in SEPA. All the species I currently have available in the nursery for sale are linked to the nursery, like this Phemeranthus teretifolius! Check link in bio!

Is your garden a bit of a dud right about now? Are you looking for inspiration? Have you been following my new Garden Journal blog posts I started 2 weeks ago? Every Monday morning, I publish a post detailing the previous week's events, including what's blooming in the garden.

Before anyone makes any assumptions, I do not water my garden. These are how they look now, fending for themselves. I don't have the time or the energy to do that. My time is entirely devoted to the nursery, so other than the occasional deer deterrent, my garden plants fend for themselves.

This is why it's important to properly site plants when planting. Once they're established, they do not require much, if any attention. They certainly look better than I did after an hour of walking around in the heat and humidity yesterday morning trying to snap pictures.

The first week I snapped photos of EVERYTHING that was in bloom at that time. Each week continuing from there, I just add what's new (unless they were just getting started previously and I got a better peak bloom photo to share).

Philly lily - which is commonly known as prairie lily but since it's Lilium philadelphicum, I like Philly lily more - is one I've attempted to sow and grow a few times now. Well, the third time's the charm!

I know people assume that I can grow just about anything, and this may be sort of true, but that doesn't mean I don't struggle with some of them. There are some species I still haven't managed to germinate or grow. Sometimes, something I've had plenty of success in the past sowing will be a dud.

My best suggestion for success is to just be incredibly stubborn. Stubbornness, or tenacity to put it in nicer terms, is probably the best quality in a grower. You never give up on anything until you succeed. If it takes me my entire career to figure out how to best grow a species, so be it.

This time I bought an entire ounce of seed and filled two 128 cell flats with seed, using my own custom seed sowing mix, and they're doing great! In fact, I bumped up a bunch of them yesterday (48 so far) to little pots that were immediately locked up in crates covered in hardware cloth.

My plan is to grow them out this year, overwinter them, and what survives will be sold next year. I'll also sow even MORE flats next year because I want a massive patch of them, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

3 July

So many big wins from last month, it's hard to pick just one! • Thanks to a massive windfall from the closure of Russell Gardens, I was finally able to tidy up and organize my nursery. • Many new species listed on the site! • New-to-me male box turtle spotted moving in!

discord.ggJoin the The MagiK Garden Discord Server!This server is dedicated to growing The MagiK Garden community. The MagiK Garden (https://themagikgarden.com) is a native plant nursery grower based out of southeastern PA. All native plant gardening…

3 July

• June 27th was the last farmers' market day before my summer break (not many people shop then), and overall I consider the spring market a huge success! • Kicked off a weekly blog recap (Garden Journal series). I'll continue zines later. • Launched a new Discord server discord.gg/7VUdTD6E4

3 July

I'm sure there's so much more I could add to this. It's hard to believe how much I can stuff into a single month on my own. If you want to stay on top of everything going on in the nursery, read my weekly Garden Journal posts and/or join my Discord server for real-time updates on what's happening!

30 June

My pocket pollinator paradise is looking absolutely lush, possibly my most favorite spot in the garden at the moment. Nobody would know this is right next to the road. This fits on a very small footprint. The outside of the design just gives you a hint, you need to peek in to see all of it.

themagikgarden.comGarden Journal 2026, Week 25Summary of week 25, 2026: Russell Gardens, nursery organization, summer solstice blooms, thoughts on preserves

22 June

Garden Journal 2026, Week 25 Summary of week 25, 2026: Russell Gardens, nursery organization, summer solstice blooms, thoughts on...

18 June

There, I fixed it. This is marketing a plant that is clearly not native to place based on the instructions to overwinter indoors. When will we start holding companies accountable for greenwashing? Pot came from my mom's used pots stash. I didn't buy this. Mexican heather isnt native there.

24 May

A contender for the award for the best common name may be this species: Carex hirsutella. It's commonly referred to as the fuzzy wuzzy sedge. Easy to id, too. Havent met another fuzzy wuzzy sedge yet.

github.comReleases · builtbybel/FlyOOBEFly through your Windows 11 setup 🐝. Contribute to builtbybel/FlyOOBE development by creating an account on GitHub.

24 May

I just upgraded/rebuilt my PC, and my husband told me about this app to remove CoPilot from my Windows 11 (part of the reason for the upgrade, since microslop was forcing my hand). If you want to get rid of all the AI things, try this github.com/builtbybel/F...

23 May

So one thing I don't get is how a post highlighting sedges ends up being my best post yet on Facebook, yet I can't seem to sell a single one at the farmer's market. Granted, I don't have this one (yet), but I have others. Still waiting for sedges to become the next collector's plant.

23 May

One of these days I may end up tempting fate and bring nothing but sedges with me. Just a full stand of all the sedges. I need to expand my offering of Carex first, but then...

23 May

Ps. I mean I obviously have this one in my own garden, I just don't currently offer Carex grayi for sale. It's on my list of sedges to offer. I do have a close relative in the same section I need to bump up, Carex lupulina.

11 May

I was watching a pair of wood thrushes collecting nesting material while potting up plants, until my neighbor's cat came into view, heading in their direction. I clapped loudly which startled off the birds and the cat, then chased the cat off. PLEASE KEEP YOUR CATS INDOORS!

6 May

TIL: The plant that showed up on my property formerly known simply as Arisaema triphyllum could either still be Arisaema triphyllum or another closely-related species. I had no idea they'd split this taxon up, but not shocked. From what I can tell in the photo, the spadix does look clavate.

6 May

Update, I went out to check and it would appear mine are all (afaik) Arisaema triphyllum sensu stricto. Now I'll need to see about collecting the others for fun at some point. Reason for all this, I have five young plants potted up to add to the shop (not from the clump, seedlings).

"Some authors choose not to recognize these varieties because hybridization is known between them and some characters are lost in pressing and drying. However, neither of these is a valid reason for not recognizing tracheophyte taxa." - GoBotany Of course they would hybridize, lol sigh

6 May

Another big happy moment yesterday: I found four new-to-my-awareness sedges on my property. Two of them popped up where I eradicated a lesser celandine patch. Others were present, but I kept forgetting to check when they had seed. Here's Carex gracilima in the skunk cabbage patch

5 May

Omg!!! I saved my black highbush blueberry! There were two problems. A holly had grown tall enough to shade it out entirely, and the deer kept decimating any new growth. So I cut down the holly early spring, and placed the branches around the base.

5 May

I was so worried I was too late, but it looks like I got to it right on time!

30 Apr

Why is the same word (amateur) used to describe someone who practices a skill or learns about a topic that isn't trying to profit from it, as well as someone who is inept or incompetent? What about incompetent professionals? Would that be an amateur pro?

30 Apr

I think most people would be surprised to find out I'm an OG "gamer girl"... Although I don't have much time these days to play video games, long days like today result in an "I'm just gonna grab some fast food to avoid cooking and go chill with a game until I pass out" Currently: Coral Island

29 Apr

In addition to things like spring sowing and winter sowing, I introduce to you something called OMG WTF IT GERMINATED IN THE FRIDGE CRAP CHANGE OF PLANS WE'RE SOWING aka emergency sowing that's what I'm doing Some of these plants are so radicle. (har har I'll see myself out, and back to the flats)

28 Apr

Polygonatum biflorum in my woods is so tiny and skinny, you wouldn't even recognize it as the same species. I have lots of them, but they look nothing like the cultivated varieties.

26 Apr

I got my free trees from the township today! This was the line an hour before pick-up time. It extends all the way back by the time it starts. You have to show up early if you want the best selection of everything. I got Tilia americana, Carpinus caroliniana, and Magnolia virginiana 'Moonglow'

24 Apr

Blue-eyed Marys are such a cool native winter-annual. I was really hoping to offer these this year, but only four of mine germinated, so I'll need to wait to collect seed from the ones that grew and try again next year. The trick is to get them going. Once established, they should happily re-seed.

20 Apr

Don't forget to protect tender new growth tonight from frost damage if possible, especially on your smaller plants. Native plants shouldn't be killed by frost (unless they're annuals, they might be), but the recent heat wave did speed up budding out.

19 Apr

number one question this market: "Can I grow it as a houseplant? I don't have a yard." ... y'all, I suck at taking care of houseplants and had long since given up on it, but I'll give it a shot for science.

17 Apr

This is why it's important to set boundaries. Businesses: pick a method for reaching customers and stick to it. If you do email, one per week is enough. Consumers: don't be reachable 24/7. Patronize those that are respectful of your time and assume you know how to find them without being clingy.

Dan Hon@danhon.com

I legit think some of the belief and experience that the economy sucks is also sheer exhaustion from shit like this and notification fatigue and every single shitty tech-mediated interaction of which there are hundreds a day