Garden Journal
week 25, 2026
A weekly summary of all the things at The MagiK Garden
The End of Russell Gardens
I came late to the party, having never been to the nursery nor met any of the Russells—until near the bitter end of an all-out family war. Without getting into the details, all I know is that there was a clear winner and a clear loser. One side received a substantial payout (or so I’ve been told), while the other side got less than what most middle-class people make in a single year’s salary. It’s far less than what would be needed to continue business elsewhere.
Prior to this past week, I’d only interacted with Alan, who’d allowed me to collect as many things as I could use in my own nursery.
On Monday, I’d been invited to come dig up some native plants. I texted him asking if there would be any problems, knowing the situation, and he reassured me everything would be fine. Soon after I began digging, one of his cousins approached, demanding to know what I was doing and threatened to involve the authorities if I did not leave immediately. Considering I’d smiled and waved at her when she arrived, that was, in my opinion, quite the escalation.
This was my final visit. I left and never returned.
NURSERY WORK
Getting organized.
Maybe there are some people who start a nursery have everything figured out. I kind of doubt that, unless they have prior experience with working at a nursery, and even then, it always ends up as a bit of a mess at first. There’s so little time when you’re entirely focused on the plants themselves. You just won’t know how much space you’ll need until you need it.
Until now, I’d been making periodic runs to grab pallets to keep the plants off the ground, then running out of room as soon as I get them. Thanks to all the nursery benches I picked up at Russell Gardens a week ago, I finally have enough of a surface to get things organized. This past week was mostly spent doing exactly that: sorting through the plants, removing dead pots to be cleaned up, and putting in the benches where they make sense.
INVENTORY
The hardest part about running a nursery (for me) is finding the time to sit down and update the inventory and the photos on the website. Once I get through my other adulting responsibilities, all my waking time is spent outdoors. After cleaning up and a late dinner, I feel practically brain-dead. I don’t have the energy to do anything.
This past week I made an effort to start going through and updating some inventory stuff first thing in the morning, and before I’m awake enough to get work done outdoors. I also need to make an effort to take my laptop with me outdoors and just spend a day or two going through and cataloging everything that’s ready. Eventually I’ll get around to adding descriptions and attributes for the new plants I’ve added, but as long as you can see what’s available and place an order, that’s good enough for now. Next week, I plan to add/edit quite a bit more.
“Flowers are essential to midsummer’s rite.” – Laurie Cabot
As we approach the summer solstice, the garden really begins to come to life. This week I’ll post all the photos of blooms; and going forward, hopefully each week I’ll be able to post what’s new. This way, over time, this will function as a sort of phenological calendar.
Why we need preserves
I used to wonder: why do we need preserves? So many of us would love to have the chance to steward our own land without being told what to do. I was so naive then.
Now I know that most people would need to be incentivized to actually take care of a remnant rather than destroy one. In an individualistic society like ours where everyone has an I do what I want mentality to land, people don’t think about caring for the land in a way that doesn’t directly benefit them. Why pay money for a property that you can’t use how you want to?
Zero consideration is given to the trees that stood since before the founding of this country. We’re about to celebrate the 250th birthday of America, and I know that some of the trees that live here are older than that. Imagine—trees that germinated before the Revolutionary War, yet I’ve watched how a new property owner managed to destroy their parcel of several hundred-year-old trees in a matter of months. Why? To install turf and a mountain biking course.
A part of my mission is to change that mentality. I’d like people to consider that purchasing property is also accepting responsibility in its stewardship. It is a way to keep that land out of the hands of developers. Your investment is a promise. What if doing what you want included leaving it better than how it was when you got it? What if your legacy was something beyond human comprehension—ensuring the preservation of the genomes of thousands of species that would have died otherwise? Priceless
Some thoughts to end the week
Do you ever look up at the tree canopies when you’re standing beneath them? I find myself losing my balance a bit when I do, as if I’m about to fall into the sky. They’re just so big! I get used to seeing just their trunks. I can forget to look up.
It’s probably good for your posture, if you’re used to looking down. I think it also helps us psychologically when we physically look up. Next time you’re outside, look up. Maybe hold onto a tree for balance (just in case).