Rosa rugosa
Rugosa rose is a suckering shrub native to Asia. It has large and beautiful blooms and the largest rose hips of any rose we know. The rose hips are high in vitamin C and can be eaten fresh or... more->
Fern Hill Nursery and Botanical Sanctuary
Edible, medicinal, and native plants for the Pacific Northwest
We spent 13 years building an abundant fruit forest, annual veggie beds, perennial medicinal herbs, and a healthy mixed hardwood-coniferous forest and now we've sold our property to the next stewards so that we can begin a new homesteading project in Vermont closer to our best friends and their kids.
Don't worry - we plan to keep this website up and running so that our customers can reference what we've written about our plants!
We'll let you know once we re-start a farm in Vermont!
Attracts pollinators
Berberis aquifolium
Tall Oregon grape is a woody perennial shrub in the barberry family that is tough enough to survive in many conditions and yet provides edible and medicinal yields. It grows 2-7 feet tall in well... more->
Monarda fistulosa
This wild variety of beebalm produces showy light pink flower clusters on two foot tall stems. more->
Sisyrinchium idahoense var. idahoense
A small but beautiful perennial native wildflower that prefers moist soil and sun, blue eyed grass grows less than a foot tall and makes clusters of small purple flowers in early summer. A great... more->
Allium cepa proliferum
This onion has the funny habit of creating bulbs atop its flowering scapes that grow so big and heavy that the stems bend down and plant the bulblets in the soil about a foot away from the mother... more->
Fragaria x ananassa 'June'
We have grown this early fruiting variety for many years with success. We harvest lots of large sweet fruits starting in late May until near the end of June. Its easy to grow and prefers full... more->
Ribes rubrum 'White Imperial'
White currants are the sweetest of the European currants and White Imperial has great flavor. Almost all currant lovers that we talk to choose white currants for sweet flavor. These shrubs are... more->
Artemisia ludoviciana
Native to Oregon and much of North America, western mugwort is a rhizomatous perennial with beautiful gray-green foliage composed of long, strap-like leaves. Its yellow-white flowers bloom in... more->
Leycesteria formosa
This is a special and very ornamental deciduous shrub. Bright green branches and stalks display elegant clusters of dark brown berry clusters. When ripe, these berries taste like chocolate. ... more->
Rosmarinus officinalis 'BBQ'
Brassica oleraceae 'tree collards'
Like other non-heading collard greens, this sturdy and cold-hardy vegetable produces large smooth, oval-shaped leaves that are really nice to harvest in fall, winter, and spring. It then grows... more->
Nepeta cataria
Although most people think first of the way that cats go crazy from the aroma of the flower spikes of catnip, it's also a wonderful herbal medicine. But it has the opposite effect on people - it'... more->
Vaccinium ovatum
Evergreen Huckleberry is a great northwest native evergreen shrub. It has delicate white and pink flowers, evergreen leaves and glossy, black berries. In the WiIlamette Valley, shrubs grow to 4... more->
Allium cernuum
Nodding onion is a showy native onion that is also a great addition to a perennial vegetable garden. The grass-like leaves can be harvested any time and eaten raw like chives or cooked as green... more->
Gaultheria shallon
Salal is an evergreen shrub in the heath family with glossy leaves, white urn-shaped flowers, and edible purple berries. Salal prefers moist shade, but it often bears the most fruit in sunny... more->
Ribes laxiflorum
This currant is native to the Northwest, growing along streams in partial shade. The delicate pink flowers bloom in spring and the delicious purple fruit ripens in early summer. It does not have... more->
Artemisia vulgaris
This is the official mugwort native to temperate Europe, Asia, and north Africa often referenced in witches spells and potions. It is a very strong cooling bitter that I like to use in apple... more->
Ligusticum apiifolium
Native oak woodlands and meadows throughout the Pacific Northwest, licorice root, also known as celery-leaved lovage, is an herbaceous perennial in the carrot family. The leaves are edible and can... more->
Rubus leucodermis var. leucodermis
Blackcap raspberry is one of the most delicious native fruits in our area. It is also not well know because it is not as common as the wild blackberries. The blackcap is a cane fruit that grows... more->
Calycanthus occidentalis
A wonderfully fragrant native shrub, western spicebush is an open, deciduous shrub that tolerates part shade and is deer resistant. Burgunday flowers bloom late spring to early summer and smell... more->
Oenothera biennis
Evening primrose is a great edition to a pollinator garden because it blooms at night and attract the nighttime pollinators. Every summer evening at dusk, you can watch each pale yellow flower... more->
Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Lingonberry is a low growing evergreen shrub/groundcover with delicious tart red berries, Very popular in cooking and food preservation in Scandinavia, where they are wild harvested and cultivated... more->
Allium fistulosum
This purple and white onion grows round bulbs in clusters that are firm, crisp, and have delicious savory flavor. more->
Gentiana tibetica
Native to the hills of western China and Tibet, this medicinal perennial likes rich, moist soil and sun. In mid-summer, it grows up to 2 feet tall with showy white blossoms. While so many... more->
Ribes menziesii
This prickly and upright gooseberry shrub is native to California and Oregon. It produces profusions of intricate red and white flowers that look like they are turned inside out. If you are... more->
Asarum caudatum
A beautiful native forest ground cover, wild ginger likes to grow in moist soil in shady areas. You will find it wild near creeks and on wet hillsides in the shade. Glossy heart-shaped leaves... more->
Linnaea borealis
Twinflower is a sweet native wildflower less than a foot tall with elegant bell-shaped white and pink flower clusters. It tolerates full shade and grows as a ground cover in woodlands. more->
Rubus parviflorus
Native to the Pacific Northwest, thimbleberries produce delicate, thimble shaped raspberry-like fruit atop canes up to 5 feet tall. The pretty white flowers in spring brighten up shady corners of... more->
Ceanothus gloriosus
A broadleaf evergreen native to coastal California, this shrub is an excellent ground cover for sunny slopes, especially rock walls and rock gardens. It grows up to 2 feet tall and will grow 5-6... more->
Oxalis oregana 'Klamath Red'
A beautiful shade-tolerant ground cover, the native Oregon wood sorrel spreads happily on the forest floor, or a shady garden floor. It likes lots of organic matter and shade. If it does not... more->
Valeriana officinalis
Valerian is an herbaceous perennial with flowering stalks up to 6 feet tall, bearing tiny white flowers with a fragrance like honey. The musky sweet roots are used in tea or tincture as a nervine... more->
Allium tricoccum
Ramps are a wild onion native to the eastern US and Canada. They grow in the thick duff of the dappled shade in the understory of somehat open forest canopies. Ramps appreciate the moist summers... more->
Geranium oreganum
A beautiful perennial native to Oregon, Oregon geranium is very showy. Growing about a foot in height and wide, it has profuse pink blooms in late spring and early summer. It thrives in full sun... more->
Ribes nigrum 'Black September'
European black currants have a very distinct musky flavor which is prized by many in Europe and the U.S. We love these fruit and make a honey and currant jam that our toddler eats by the spoonful... more->
Asclepias incarnata
Unlike some milkweed species, swamp milkweed is a clumping perennial and does not spread by rhizomes. It has deep pink flower clusters on a two to three foot stalk. It is a host plant for monarch... more->
Lomatium californicum
Native to dry, brushy and forested hill slopes in northern California and southern Oregon, this is the largest species of biscuitroot that we grow. I've seen it up to 4 feet tall and several feet... more->
Rudbeckia occidentalis
A rudbeckia native to Oregon, this wildflower has a unique bloom that resembles Echinacea or Rdbeckia but with no petals. A perennial plant, when grown in full sun and garden soil, flower stalks... more->
Ceanothus thrysiflorus
Blue blossom, also known as California lilac, is a fabulous showy broadleaf evergreen shrub. Lilac colored flowers bloom in mid to late spring and have a wonderful fragrance. Native to coastal... more->
Passiflora caerula
Fabulous flowers on this semi-evergreen vine. The complex blue flowers bloom mid summer to fall. This vine is reasonably hardy and can grow a lot in one season. During cold winters it may die... more->
Althea officinalis
This perennial herb has soft leaves, beautiful hibiscus-like white and pink flowers, and provides a healing herbal medicine. Marshmallow roots are the original source of the slimy mucilage used... more->
Grindelia integrifolia
This native perennial in the sunflower family grows into a small shrub each season, bearing yellow flowers covered in sticky white resin. It thrives in sunny spots with moisture and tolerates... more->
Ribes odoratum 'Crandell'
This currant has smooth, lobed leaves and berries that have spicy and gingery tones that ride on top of the sweet and sour currant flavor. It's yellow flowers brighten the garden in late spring... more->
Asclepias speciosa
A gorgeous wildflower native to western North America, showy milkweed is a host plant for monarch butterflies. Pink and white fragrant flower clusters bloom on two or three foot stalks in mid-... more->
Lomatium nudicaule
I really like the parsley-like taste of this edible perennial in the carrot family. Another common name is pestle-parsley. It's also native to wet meadows and well-drained hillsides in the... more->
Sagittaria latifolia and cuneata
Wapato is a perennial plant that is native throughout North America. Historically, it was a staple food crop for people wherever it grew and continues to be a popular native food plant. Tubers... more->
Chamaemelum nobile
We relish the soft, living, green carpets made of this fragrant and healing herb. This perennial chamomile stitches together into a mat a few inches tall that emits the sweetest apple scent when... more->
Passiflora incarnata
The maypop is a perennial passionflower in our climate. The plant dies back each year to the ground and re-sprouts in late spring. Less vigorous than P. caerulea, this species has a... more->
Viola odorata
One of the first flowers to bloom in spring, purple sweet violet flowers bring a subtle and sweet aroma to the garden as it wakes from slumber. With edible and fragrant flowers as well as edible... more->
Angelica archangelica
This is one of our favorite spring-producing plants. A biennial, Angelica shoots out of dormancy in winter and grows quickly to its full height, up to six or seven feet. In the parsley family,... more->
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