Diary of a Millennial Gardener: The Prairie Island Experiment

That would make a pretty baller book title.

When I discovered a rabbit’s nest in the middle of my backyard, I did what any rational animal lover would do: I marked it off and told our landscaper to mow around it.

Now the nest is likely empty for the season, but after weeks of not mowing this spot, we’ve ended up with this grassy, prairie-like island. I started to wonder what would happen if we kept it as it is. Then I started to wonder what would happen if I just started tossing random seeds in there.

So that’s what I’ve been doing the past couple of weeks. I’ve been collecting the seeds from the summer flowers and redistributing them around the yard, paying special attention to the prairie island.

Milkweed, river oats, goldenrod, bee balm, and a bunch more I can’t remember. I have a packet of lupine seeds somewhere. If I find them I’ll sprinkle those in there too.

One of the few downsides to prairie island is letting some of the more undesirable plants grow too. Like my plant nemesis, sand spurs.

Gardening is a slow hobby.

It’ll take a year to find out what pops up in that grassy island. It’ll take a few more for those plants to become established and grow to their full potential.

You’d think that this would be torture for a person with ADHD, but it hasn’t been. Some of that is probably due to my inability to grasp the passage of time. Most of it is likely due to living in a state where I can do quite a bit of gardening all year round.

Gardening provides long-term gratification, but it’s not at all instant. And I think that’s one of the reasons why I built it into the Scions of Belhaven magic system.

What if we could grow things just a little bit faster?
What if we could grow things in less than optimal conditions?
What if we could share our abundance so none would be hungry?

In Roots in Ink, Liam’s ancestral magic does all of these things. But since he exists in a world where using magic is illegal, he can’t use his to its full potential. He grapples with that dichotomy a bit and it’s when he confides in Emma that the pair truly connect.

If your interest is piqued, you can order a signed paperback copy of Roots in Ink or get the ebook delivered straight to your inbox when you buy direct from my webshop.