Blue Frog Garden Nursery

Blue Frog Garden Nursery Blue Frog Garden Nursery Blue Frog Garden Nursery is located on 5 wooded acres on the Key Peninsula, near Gig Harbor Washington.

The nursery started as an extension of Blue Ribbon Lawn Service and our desire to be surrounded within our own garden kingdom. In the beginning the growing operation consisted of some flat trays and a bench or two. We currently have three hoop houses and continue to develop our selections of plant material. A good portion of what we grow appears in our own landscaped planting beds. The woodland ga

rden setting features almost 1/2 mile of intersecting paths and trails.The garden hits full stride in July which is when we have our Open Garden (see Event Calendar on our Web site).

We rolled into Spokane with the trailer full of Japanese Maples for the Garden Expo. I had a little chat with them befor...
05/09/2026

We rolled into Spokane with the trailer full of Japanese Maples for the Garden Expo. I had a little chat with them before we unloaded. I let them know that I was proud that they all made the trip safely. (it doesn’t always happen) That there were going to be lots of people, happy to see them, and most of them, not all, ( although it has happened) were going to a new home! They were speechless!😊

I have been grafting Japanese Maples for 125 feet. A little over 20 years ago I sat in on a grafting demonstration by ...
03/10/2026

I have been grafting Japanese Maples for 125 feet. A little over 20 years ago I sat in on a grafting demonstration by Sam Momii at a Puget Sound Bonsai Association club event. I clearly remember him stating, this is what I do! There are other ways that you can try, but this is what I do! Isamu Momii at the age of 93 passed away in 2021. I still do it Sam’s way. His method required the use of ‘Parafilm M ’ a membrane designed to cover Petri dishes when growing lab cultures. It is stretchable, self-sealing and moisture resistant. When grafting, I cut, slice and stick. Make a few snug wraps and cover with tree seal for extra protection. A roll of Parafilm is 125 ft long and 4 inches wide. For grafting practice, that 4 in. width is cut into 3/8 to 1/4 in. strips and those strips are again cut in half. With the cut down pieces, a minimum of 2 grafts can be struck. You do the math! How many trees have I grafted? Keep in mind, of those grafts, the average survival rate is 60%. There are alternative methods that may enhance their survival, but I still do it Sam’s way. I have a new roll ready to open for next Summer’s grafting. It should last me. I’ll check back with you in 20 years.

Ok, there is this one little project, but it won't be complete.There is a story!
07/07/2025

Ok, there is this one little project, but it won't be complete.
There is a story!

What’s new in the garden? No big new projects this year. Just reclaiming, defining and refining the forest from another ...
07/07/2025

What’s new in the garden? No big new projects this year. Just reclaiming, defining and refining the forest from another Winters mess. However, this brilliant frog appeared a while back. We went to the store and weren’t gone that long when it showed up outside the gate. My first thought was that it was the sh*th. Pronounced (she) the fairy folk, in the Celtic traditions. Sometimes helpful and sometimes a wee bit mischievous. Turns out it was another ‘she’, our daughter. She couldn’t resist it. I may find a safer place, but for now it will greet you outside the gate! Often as I’m out working in the garden songs will come into my head. Recently Billy Joel’s ‘ You may be right, I may be crazy’ has been in the mental playlist. Or Pink Floyd album titled ‘ A Momentary Lapse of Reason’ might be a better. I spend what might be considered an inordinate amount of time preparing the garden. It’s what I do and it’s ready for you, to come and visit.

See you Saturday.

07/11/2024

I am speaking here on behalf of our land and forest. It is prepared and waiting for you. You do know that it’s only when there are people present, that it becomes a garden.
This little video shows the result of an incident from some 20 years ago. I was spreading a load of gravel on a path behind the house and had a little extra, so I continued up a way. Some friends were visiting and headed up what appeared to be a path. They did a quick about face, as this path led to nowhere.
This was disappointing! I became committed that there would be no path, that wouldn’t lead to somewhere. That path now leads to the most recent and largest project to date. Take a peek! You will have to come out if you want to see inside.
So back to the Fairy Garden. Some will create vignettes with little houses and figurines. That is not my vision. Here is my spin on the description of the Fairy Garden borrowed from the story of Liban and her encounters with the sithiche.

‘A place of stillness and peace, with too much of a void, not to have been filled only a moment before’

It might be hard to find if there are many here. You’ll just have to use your imagination!
Come and explore, you’ll only get lost if you want to.
July 13th & 14th 10:00am -3:00pm

Second copy: Open Garden Invite July 13th and 14thFrom time to time, for whatever reason, things just appear in the gard...
06/16/2024

Second copy: Open Garden Invite July 13th and 14th
From time to time, for whatever reason, things just appear in the garden. The one in the first photo showed up hear about 10 years ago and has remained in place. I do know who left it behind. When the second creature appeared, they were my first suspect! My accusations were denied. I have a second suspect! When the third ‘decoration’ appeared, I was tipped off that it was somewhere out there for me to find. I am thinking that this individual will in the future need supervised visits. I moved it to a space, that is in the process of becoming a place. So, things appearing in the garden is not unusual, but not encouraged. My reaction ranges from delighted to pi**ed off, depending on who and why it was left. 😊 Ultimately it does create some concern as to what else goes on out there when I‘m not looking. Which brings me back to the subject of the Fairy Garden. Maybe I’ll get to that in my next post.

First copy for our Open Garden Weekend invite. This year's dates will be July13th & 14th. ...
06/02/2024

First copy for our Open Garden Weekend invite. This year's dates will be July13th & 14th. With no plant sale scheduled for a while, I turn all my attention to the task of making our place presentable for you to come and visit. I was working on a path in the forest and came across couple spaces that I thought to share. The first is a patch of Twin Flowers. A perfect example of forest gardening. The mother (divine) planted it and the gardener, w**ds out what doesn’t need to be there. Namely, a few Catch Weeds and some Black Raspberry vines. Secondly, if you’ve ever been here, you will know that I have a thing for stones and rocks, so I was delighted to uncover a rock that I didn’t know was there. This is start of how a space becomes a place! A perfect prelude to the subject of my next post 'The Fairy Garden' fact or fiction?😉

07/08/2023

We are expecting a perfect day to visit the garden tomorrow. The sun should break out at about 10:00am with a high of 77 degrees. I’ve done as much as I can do to get it ready. I didn’t get to everything. There is probably a pile or two that I missed picking up, but I’m sure they’re small. Preparing to share the garden, is kind of like plating a meal. If you start with the proper ingredients and use good cooking methods, it’s gonna taste good. The plating doesn’t make it taste better, it just punctuates the care taken in the preparation. I do know that I’ve done something right by comments offered from visitors not here for nursery or garden related reasons. (example: the FED X driver, the guy that came out to buy my truck etc.) Comments like, this is a really nice place. A less humble me would respond, yeah I know! I simple reply Thanks
I never know who will show up tomorrow. It may be just me, Miriam, Sadie, the sunshine. Looking forward to seeing some old and some new faces in my garden.

06/26/2023

Preparations for our Open Garden are well under way, calculating the number of days left to get ready. The work starts in November and it takes until July to get it back into presentable condition. To some that visit, the phrase, magical is often used, to others it’s just a lot of trees. Perhaps it both! Really, there is no magic! What you’ll see, or won’t see are the result of hours and hours of labor. As always, I’m feeling a bit behind schedule. Many of my hours have been consumed by my latest, and most ambitious project to date. All I can say is, it may be a little funky but hopefully totally functional. It’s been 20 years visualized in my head, 6 years visually in Sketchup and a couple years from the ground up.
This year’s dates are Saturday July 8th and Sunday the 9th We are also open to an area garden club, but anyone that can find us is welcome!
Directions can be found on our Blue Frog Nursery web site and the nursery is pinned on google maps.

Below is the garden description as published in the Northwest Perennial Alliance Open Garden directory:

Our home and garden are situated within 5 acres of woodland on the Key Peninsula. Over a half-mile of paths and trails have been carved out to intersect and connect different areas of the forest garden. The perennial beds near the house are the abundant result of yearly compost and Miriam’s fearless planting. The variation of terrain brought about the need for several areas of dry stacked stone and walls. Being largely maintained by an army of one, persistence is the key word needed in this garden. The gardens center piece is a Celtic spiral inspired labyrinth path. Created as a place for contemplation as well as congregation. As you venture out you will find a network of shaded paths, pocket vistas and other garden follies in various stages of completion. The garden hits its stride in the July as the sun shines and displays its many facets that make it sparkles like a green diamond. Come and explore. You can only get lost if you want to!

I have friends that are great cooks and often share a photo of what they have prepared. I am not a great chef and even l...
08/22/2022

I have friends that are great cooks and often share a photo of what they have prepared. I am not a great chef and even less when it comes too plating. 😊 In the gardening world we do our cooking microbially, literally organically! For some reason, (psychological exam pending) I often take a picture of my compost pile after it’s been turned. Today I took one when it was tilled down. As it gets piled back up each layer is watered. The pile can get hot enough that it dries out the material to the point that it could possibly spontaneously combust. Often hot enough that you can’t leave your hand in it. I have read that you can foil wrap food and slow cook in a compost pile. Ideally if the pile can maintain heat of over 100 dg for 20 days or something like that, it will kill most w**d seed. Mine does not. The pile in the back is ready to be used. The middle pile will be turned at least one more time. The front plie is currently cooking!
I do groom the pile into shape. I thinking that if they look good, how can you possibly smell bad?

Address

110th Street N. W
Gig Harbor, WA
98329

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