Just three out of 15 greenhouses remain undamaged.

“They just started going almost like dominos,” Sam Nagelkirk, owner and operator of Nagelkirk Gardens said.

Nagelkirk said that she and her husband Steve are fortunate that no one was injured and to have good insurance. Scott Koski from Vast Insurance has been working with the Nagelkirks on getting their greenhouses rebuilt as quickly as possible.

The Nagelkirks are even looking into erecting temporary structures so the gardens can be ready to open by May 1.

Damage from heavy snow can be seen at the Nagelkirk Gardens. (Journal photo by Corey Kelly)

“I think the challenge was that we had freezing rain, then snow; then freezing rain, then snow,” Nagelkirk explained. “The snow ends up being like a big chunk of concrete.”

Even with this derailment the Nagelkirks are staying positive and moving forward.

“Now we have an opportunity to rethink the whole layout and make it more efficient from a labor standpoint, but also from a customer experience standpoint,” Nagelkirk said.

Nagelkirk wants to assure the public that the flowers used for the city of Munising’s beautification and by Marquette’s Downtown Development Authority are safe downstate at an outside growing facility.

Their perennials are unharmed as well; thankfully, they are kept in the greenhouses that are still standing.