Actinidia purpurea
This species of hardy kiwi stands out from the crowd because it produces coppery red colored kiwi fruit! It can be pollinated by Meader or any of the male Actinidia arguta. 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!
Vine
Acmella caulirhiza
This Kenyan species of toothache plant grows as a ground cover or vine. It's sensitive to frost but makes a great medicinal annual plant for our climate. We occasionally grow the vines in... more->
Vitis vinifera 'Himrod'
'Himrod' is an excellent sweet green seedless table grape. It is very productive. Fruits turn golden when ripe, which is usually late summer. It is self-pollinating. Very easy to grow and... more->
Vitis vinifera 'Canadice'
Canadice is a delicious seedless red table grape. It ripens at the later end of grape season, in early fall. Canadice is self-pollinating. Very easy to grow and drought tolerant. more->
Vitis vinifera 'Glenora'
Glenora is a concord -type seedless grape. Grapes are medium to large size and have a deep dark blue color. It is self-pollinating. Very easy to grow and drought tolerant. more->
Actinidea arguta 'Meader'
This male variety will pollinate any Actinidia arguta (hardy kiwi), purpurea (hardy red), or deliciosa (fuzzy kiwi), but it won't likely pollinate A.... more->
Actinidea arguta var. cordifolia
This variety produces very well in our partly shady garden. A neighbor of ours has a vine that towers overhead, engulfing a fence and raining down fruit. more->
Humulus lupus 'Cascade'
'Cascade' is a popular variety for brewing. Bred at OSU, it is a great general purpose flavor and resistant to downy mildew.
Hops are a wonderful choice for summer shade screen and, of... more->
Vitis vinifera 'red'
Grapes are very easy to grow and maintain and never fail to produce abundant crops. This red variety is espcially sweet and ripens later than the green and purple varieties we grow. more->
Vitis vinifera 'green'
Grapes are very easy to grow and maintain and never fail to produce abundant crops. This is a sweet and delicious table grape. It is the earliest to ripen of the grapes we grow. It is very... more->
Rubus x 'Napache'
Tired of thorns ripping through your clothes and poking through your gloves as you harvest sweet blackberries in summer? This cultivar released from the University of Arkansas yields large, sweet... 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->
Akebia quinata
Akebia is a twining deciduous woody fruiting vine. Unlike many fruiting vines, it is shade tolerant. Leaves are somewhat evergreen and young leaves may have a purplish hue. Vines can grow 20 to... 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->
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->
Dioscorea batatas
A perennial vine with elegant glossy leaves, Chinese mountain yam can grow up to 15 feet tall each season. It blooms in late summer and produces underground potato-flavored edible tubers which... more->
Humulus lupus 'Nugget'
"Nugget" is popular for brewing because of its strong bitterness and fruity aroma. It's often added late in the process to impart its unique flavor.
Hops are a wonderful choice for summer... more->
