Colleen Slater, KP News
“Grandpa taught me how to garden,” says G T Nursery owner Tom Teague, of Longbranch. They lived in Los Osos, Cailf. during his growing up years.
Teague has gardened ever since in a variety of places.
After spending 17 years in the aluminum refinery in Ferndale, a job he disliked, he retired and looked for a good place to live and garden. He’s been in his wooded five acres on The Key Peninsula for a dozen years now.
“It was solid blackberries,” Teague says of his property. He loves trees, and is literally surrounded by them.
He moved plants from their previous home and started adding more, including hydrangeas, one of his favorites. Mostly blue, he also grows whites, pink and red. He shows off a tree hydrangea, has a PeeGee and lace caps as well as the standard varieties.
He’s an organic gardener, bringing in 40-50 yards of compost from his yard and garden service jobs.
Teague has been so busy with this “outside job” he hasn’t spent as much time as he’d like with his own garden and nursery stock. He’s currently training some helpers for the yard and garden job.
Ornamental shrubs are for sale, and in many cases, he has larger specimens to show mature sizes.
His vegetable garden, fertilized only with compost, gives seasonal produce to sell. A sign at the entry notes what’s available –– currently beans.
His tomatoes grow under plastic to avoid blight, but lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, horseradish and many other vegetables thrive outside.
Assorted perennials are also standard stock at the nursery.
Three friendly cats are his garden companions, and a neighbor’s rooster reminds visitors they’re in the country.
One item on Teague’s to-do list is to make his temporary greenhouse permanent. That list is for his future “semi-retirement” when he can spend more time on his garden, his all-time favorite job.
G T Nursery is located at 18814 Rouse Road KP S, Longbranch. For information, call (360) 510-1160.
