… what isn’t the MagiK Garden? It’s a backyard nursery. A passion project. A journey. Dream come true. Lot of work. What I’ve always wanted. Place of ceaseless wonder. Connection to the land. Simply magical.
Our Story
A Little Slice Of Heaven
She’s in the woods again…
MagiK is short for Magi Kern. The one person behind it all. That would be me. A bit of a backstory: as a kid (elementary school age), I remember frequently getting into trouble for running off to the woods alone, because our neighborhood was surrounded by them. I was always playing outside, usually catching frogs and getting them to sit on my shoulder. Pretty much every summer, we spent vacation camping at a lake surrounded by woods. I wasn’t interested in gardening, because I wanted the wilderness. It seemed like they were two very different worlds. It didn’t occur to me that they could ever be combined.
Forget daffodils… I wanted mayapples.
The first plant I ever tried to transplant was one of many mayapples I found growing in the woods near my home. I’d seen my mom plant things many times, but this was before I understood the whole deal with roots or watering it in. Needless to say, I wasn’t successful then. I don’t think she even knew I’d snuck it into one of her flower beds.
Now they carpet the woods on my property. I did not plant them – they have always been here, as far as I know. These days I know quite a bit more about these spring ephemerals. They are a fruit favored by box turtles, believed to be their primary dispersers. As an adult I finally have my own little slice of the woods, a remnant surrounded by developed land.
The woods of my childhood are long gone. The development, which once sat at the edge of the town, began expanding during my final years living there before leaving for college. I didn’t know what native plants were, but even then it upset me. My college application included a rant against the practice of clear-cutting as a result of the destruction that I’d witnessed.
Blatant destruction and lack of care for our natural history continue to motivate me in the work that I do. The remnant my little slice of woods belongs to continues to shrink with each passing year, as others clear cut what remains of them. All I can do is protect what remains on my own property. Owning isn’t enough – invasive species do not follow human laws, and the overpopulation of deer get pushed to whatever wild places remain, devouring everything in their path.
"I would like to believe when I die that I have given myself away like a tree that sows seeds every spring and never counts the loss, because it is not loss, it is adding to future life. It is the tree's way of being. Strongly rooted perhaps, but spilling out its treasure on the wind."
May Sarton, Recovering: A Journal
What Do We Stand To Lose?
These are some of the species that grow wild at The MagiK Garden. Clear-cutting and regrading land destroyed the populations of these on the properties nearby. This includes the insect species that nest in the ground (like the spring beauty miner in the fourth photo, top row).
As I methodically remove invasive species, I add new native plants in the hopes of increasing the diversity at The MagiK Garden. Preservation alone isn’t the intent and would not be realistic. Instead, the aim is to grow a wild garden, the kind I’d always envisioned but didn’t think possible. If wildness alone isn’t enough to discourage clear-cutting the land, maybe it’s time to reimagine the garden. What would it look like if gardeners worked to preserve existing native species while adding new ones in the process?
The MagiK Garden Nursery
Cultivating a native garden on a 1.5 acre property at the speed necessary to replace the invasive species removed would not be possible without growing from seed. Even at wholesale prices, this isn’t affordable on a single income. In the process, I noticed that many of the plants I would like to add are not available in the nursery trade, despite there being a demand for them among the native plant community.
The nursery came about once I realized how much I enjoyed growing native plants from seed. I knew I could grow the plants others were seeking but were struggling to find, since I was already growing them for myself.
95% Seed Grown
Other than a handful of species that I make available from division or cuttings from pruned branches, the majority of what I offer is grown from seed. These are plants that I am either adding to The MagiK Garden, or seed collected from plants I already own and know others would appreciate growing in their own gardens.
Focus on Conservation
Some of the native and near-native plants that I grow and share with others are rare, threatened or endangered. They are 100% cultivated from legally purchased or obtained seed. This is my way of carrying on Norman C. Deno’s legacy. As he wrote on the cover of his self-published Seed Germination Theory and Practice, “Propagation is Conservation” (P.S. I made a shirt)
Reducing Waste
Learning that most plastics aren’t recyclable (especially the ones common in the nursery trade), and recyclable plastics are anything but energy efficient, we need real-world solutions to reduce or avoid buying plastics as much as possible. This is why I do my best to collect and reuse plastic pots as much as possible (even using ones that are warped and beginning to crack). The idea is to keep them out of landfills as long as possible.
Giving Back
Between donating plants to various individuals and organizations, cleaning and donating native seeds, and volunteering in community efforts, I do my part to give back to the community. Plenty have helped me along my journey, and this is my way of paying it forward.
The earth is a living thing. Mountains speak, trees sing, lakes can think, pebbles have a soul, rocks have power.
Henry Crow Dog
Services
Do you want to grow your own MagiK Garden?
Although I focus primarily on the early stages of growing plants, I want you to be successful in growing your own native sanctuary. Not many people in the landscaping industry know about native plant selection and care. They grow what’s traditionally been the standard in the horticulture industry. I am the opposite. Other than shrubs, I don’t really know about growing exotic/popular garden plants. If you need help with your native garden, you’ve come to the right place.
Basic Site Assessment/Consult
Let’s go over your property together. Tell me what you’re wanting to do with it, and I can provide a second opinion or recommendations on next steps. I will bring to your attention any native or invasive species that I can see growing at the time. If you’re fairly hands-on and comfortable working in the garden but seeking a second opinion, this may be all you need.
We can schedule a one-time consultation or up to four (once per season) for the year.
This option includes a garden consultation, basic measurements and map of the area you want to have designed, and design utilizing only native plants. You specify how strict you want the native plant selection.
I can also collect and send off soil samples if necessary, remove invasive species (futureoption), purchase or grow plants for the installation and do the actual installation all for an additional cost.
Do you have a native garden that you don’t trust a landscaping service to take care of? Will you be out of town or have a medical emergency preventing you from taking care of it? Did you buy more plants than you can get in the ground by yourself? ChipDrop or other delivery that you need to move quickly because it’s blocking your driveway, or HOA breathing down your neck? This is for those temporary situations and odd jobs when you want someone experienced to handle things but don’t want to get involved in any revolving contract services.
Once I obtain my commercial pesticide license, I will be able to assist in effective removal of invasive species. My approach is to utilize IVM (Integrated Vegetation Management) best practices for control depending on the situation. I don’t handle unwanted or annoying plants; there are other landscaping services who have that covered. My focus is on terrestrial species listed on the Pennsylvania Invasive Species Council website as well as ones I’ve noticed that are not yet on their radar.
