The MagiK Garden

and for the aww but cute deer crowd, they're not cute, they are dangerous, especially during certain times of the year. Does will fight you in spring. Bucks will ram you during a rut. Do not encourage them to hang out on your property. If they don't have fear, they're MORE LIKELY to harm you or kin

Same. For the non-hunting average homeowner, slingshots with clay ammo are effective. They avoid or run from my property if we're outside. Not having fear was posing a significant threat to my family, since my kids wander the woods on their own. Doesn't harm them, but they don't like the sting of it

100% wish locals here put the fear of god in whitetail deer. I do, but so many others would try to tame them or feed them.

Dangerous for them and humans alike.

Cuphea viscosissima in part sun, form and tiny purple flowers, red stems

Pot full of Cuphea viscosissima, growing in full sun next to the pergola.

Cuphea viscosissima sticky stems with stuck bugs.

Cuphea viscosissima ripe seeds still stuck to the plant

Here's another fun plant that I am not selling this year, but can add in future years if there is interest. Cuphea viscosissima is very sticky and blooms all summer long into fall. Bugs stick to it, as do its own seeds, easy for birds to get food. I am holding off on annuals until there's interest.

More photos of Oenothera gaura flowers, plus one of Gaura lindheimeri (last photo, next to Oenothera speciosa... I guess I love primroses... I have yellows elsewhere, these are in the same bed). #NativePlants

Yes, I agree they're tough to get a good photo of them. Those are cool!

Tiny pink blooms visible on Oenothera gaura, growing in a bed covered in wood chips with other young plants nearby. Behind is the neighbor's property where trees and lawns going.

Oenothera gaura, which used to be known as Gaura biennis, is beginning to bloom. This is a biennial species. 1st year it just has a leafy rosette that puts all its energy into the root storage. 2nd year it takes off into a 6ft tall erect plant that blooms, sets seed, & dies. #NativePlants

Hibiscus moscheutos flower, seed grown in 2024

I grew these Hibiscus mosceutos from seed in 2024 and planted a bunch at the edge of the woods. I also have Hibiscus laevis in another part of the garden showing flower buds - except they have flowers along the stems, not the top. I'll share a photo of those when they bloom. #NativePlants

I'm just carrying on the torch, growing the lesser known plants and teaching people about them. We clearly cannot trust the government to protect the lands we thought were protected indefinitely. We need to take conservation matters into our own hands. There's no time now for philosophical debate.

It's why I've been encouraging other gardeners to take part in ex-situ conservation. Not even my idea, ones like PlantDelights have been doing so for years, especially since they've seen first hand finding rare populations only to go back and it's been replaced by development.

I'd report it on iNaturalist. Bonap doesn't show any of the leatherflowers in your county or even close, but nearby states have it and northern province. They're not that common that it would be a garden escapee. There may be a wild population they dont know about yet. It does happen.

Photo of me from the garden tour last year as proof 😊
That is Jenny's potting shed. She has a few sheds. The whole garden is fun like this (and yes, a mix of both native and non-native plants). Best part is seeing what a few decades of dedication can look like - she loves growing her own from seed.

Here's the link to Northview. Jenny is a member of our garden club and her garden is so full of whimsy and great design ideas. I volunteered as a tour guide at Northview during last year's garden tour. This year I won't be at Northview but at a new house added to the tour that wasn't on last year's.

As a member of Ambler Keystone Farm & Garden, I will be selling my plants on-site at one of the gardens along the tour, which is also featuring some of my plants. Enjoy the tour, get inspired, see Jenny Rose Carey's garden (it's a treat), and go home with some unique and unusual #NativePlants!

Early Meadow-Rue - The MagiK Garden native to southeastern PA

themagikgarden.com/store/early-...

Very well camouflaged cricket in potting mix, zoomed in 10x

My potting soil jumped! Then I noticed it had legs. Do you see it?

Narrow-leaf Swamp Sunflower - The MagiK Garden There are so many sunflower species native to North America, it’s hard to keep track of them all. This one is native to southeastern PA, albeit extirpated from the state, so let’s bring it back! Since...

themagikgarden.com/store/narrow...

Puffballs - The MagiK Garden south-central endemic

themagikgarden.com/store/puffba...

Autumn Goldenrod - The MagiK Garden not native to PA, near native, straight species version of the popular nativar ‘Golden Fleece’

themagikgarden.com/store/autumn...

Showy Tick-Trefoil - The MagiK Garden native to southeastern PA, plant in your native permaculture food forest for its nitrogen-fixing roots (which release nitrogen back into the soil when they go dormant in the winter), and to attract po...

themagikgarden.com/store/showy-...

Virginia Jumpseed - The MagiK Garden native in southeastern PA

themagikgarden.com/store/virgin...

Yes. Aquatic safe glyphosate is just the one without any surfactants in it. It's not glyphosate itself that harms aquatic life, but the surfactants they mix in to help penetrate leaves. So the only difference is you have to mix it in yourself using an aquatic-safe surfactant.

I believe three-seed mercury is also an annual. A light misting when the stiltgrass is taller than nearby plants protects them from getting sprayed. Also hopefully proves to naysayers that glyphosate isn't kryptonite if used properly.

Rest easy! Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Various native plants remain green - three seed mercury, violets, poverty oatgrass and sedges. Brown dead growth is stiltgrass.

Close up where you can see dead stiltgrass but poverty oatgrass and violets are fine.

The other day I mentioned .01% of glyphosate is enough to kill stiltgrass without harming native perennials. I did this last week. Here are the results.
As you can see, the stiltgrass is dead. The violets, sedges, and even poverty oatgrass are fine. Just a light mist, not drenched, is enough.

They're not native but way too juicy to squish. And I had to get used to hand squishing some bugs while working at the garden last year.

If you got them just right it was like popping a pimple into the bucket where we were dropping them.

Ew. LOL

😂 Wasn't for me. You'd have to ask the birds! I'm just the AirDash delivery service

Random #gardening thought:

If you chuck a slug at the wall and it sticks, does that mean it's done? 🤔

Marsh fern volunteer growing happily in a seedling flat.

Looks like the fern that volunteers from sphagnum moss (why i buy US sphagnum moss) is marsh fern. It's apparently a host plant, the sole host, for the marsh fern moth. Cool stuff... #NativePlants

I'd also recommend volunteering at any gardens you'd consider applying to should you choose to do so. You'd get to know the staff, the garden, how they run things, and they get to know you, so that if you did apply, would be pretty easy to get in (if you put in a good effort as a volunteer).