Origanum syriacum
This aromatic and savory variety of oregano is native to the Middle East where it grows in abundance on the rocky hillsides. It's leaves are covered in fine grey hairs that help it conserve water... 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!
Drought tolerant
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->
Vitis vinifera 'purple'
Grapes are very easy to grow and maintain and never fail to produce abundant crops. This table grape is seedless and dark purple with small to medium sized fruits in nicely shaped clusters. This... more->
Inula helenium
This sturdy herbaceous perennial bears giant leaves, stems up to 6 feet tall, and bright yellow flowers several inches across. Bees and other insects are always buzzing around to sip the nectar... more->
Achillea millefolium
Yarrow is a flowering perennial in the sunflower family. Feathery green basal leaves are present in our climate throughout the year. Taller leaves begin to grow in early spring, and flower stalks... more->
Origanum vulgare 'Aureum'
This low-growing oregano has beautiful golden leaves and a nice aromatic flavor for cooking. It prefers full sun, and loses its color in part shade. 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->
Wyethia angustifolia
A sunflower-like native wildflower, narrow leaved mule's ears grows in grasslands and meadows in the fields and foot hills of the Willamette Valley. It is an herbaceous perennial and each year... 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->
Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum
Kalitera means "the finest" in Greek, and this oregano lives up to its name. It has a smooth flavor like marjoram without the spicy bitterness found in seed-grown oregano. It grows upright on... 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->
Lavandula angustifolia 'Grosso'
'Grosso' is a hybrid Lavindin-type variety that has a dark purple bloom, grey-green leaves, and excellent fragrance fresh or dried. This variety is often used for commercial production because of... more->
Anaphalis margaritacea
An Oregon native wildflower with gray green foliage and pretty dried pearly white flowers, pearly everlasting is an easy plant for a native garden. At the height of summer, plants grow up to 3... more->
Potentilla fruticosa
This hardy deciduous shrub is easy to grow in our climate. Deer tolerant and drought tolerant, it blooms for a very long time through spring into fall. We have two varieties- one that blooms... more->
Cynoglossum grande
With beautiful blue flowers clustered atop two foot tall stalks, hound's tongue is named for the shape and texture of the leaves that form a rosette at the base of the plant. It's native to the... more->
Lavandula angustifolia 'Vera'
'Vera' is a cold-hardy heirloom English lavender. It is considered the original and true variety traditionally grown at high elevation in the French alps. In our garden, 'Vera' produces tall... more->
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
A broad leaf evergreen ground cover, kinnikinnick is very hardy. It thrives in partial shade and will spread along the ground or grow along a slope, providing some erosion control. Drought... 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->
Eleagnus multiflora 'Sweet Scarlet'
Goumi plants are well known in the Northwest permaculture community for being great nitrogen fixing shrubs with a much lower chance for spreading by birds. These shrubs can grow up to 12 feet or... 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->
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->
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->
Eriophyllum lanatum
A beauty for a native wildflower garden, Oregon sunshine lives up to its name, bearing profuse quantities of deep yellow blooms. Gray green foliage is ornamental. This plant blooms no taller than... 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->
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->
Rosmarinus officinalis 'BBQ'
Ficus carica 'Negronne'
A fig that performs very well in the Northwest with cooler summers, Negronne is also generally more compact. It can grow over 15 feet but is happy to be pruned for ease of harvest. These figs... more->
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