Hibiscus syriacus 'Blushing Bride'
'Blushing Bride' has light pink frilly blooms. 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
Rosa rugosa 'alba'
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->
Cistus x purpureus 'Pink'
This variety of rock rose has narrow, resinous leaves and stunning, crinkly pink flowers with four central maroon spots. more->
Hibiscus syriacus 'Blue Bird'
'Blue Bird' has bright blue flowers, and is a bit smaller and less vigorous than other varieties. more->
Ribes aureum
'Golden' currant is larger than the european currants that we grow. It is vigorous and can grow in a variety of soil types and habitats, up to 9 feet tall. It has beautiful clusters of yellow... more->
Ribes x 'Waldo'
Waldo is a purple gooseberry originally brought to us by Rick Valley, a wise local Permaculture landscaper. It was the result of hybridizations from Dr. George Waldo. It has sweet purple fruits... more->
Viburnum opulus
Cramp bark is a deciduous shrub that can grow over 10 feet tall. It has showy white flower clusters and bright red-orange berries that birds love. The bark is used medicinally to reduce smooth... 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->
Ribes nigrum 'Blackdown'
'Blackdown' produces large, jet-black berries that are juicy and flavorful with a distinctive musky taste. They are excellent in jams, jellies and juice. The plant is vigorous and has upright... more->
Vitex agnus-castus 'Pink'
Chaste tree, also known as vitex, is a beautiful deciduous shrub that has spikes of flowers in late summer here in Oregon. It can grow up to ten feet tall but can be kept shorter with annual... more->
Ribes rubrum 'Jonkheer Van Tets'
Red currants produce bright red clusters of fruit which are are striking in the garden and they enhance any dish to which they are added. Red currant fruit is high in vitamin C and potassium and... more->
Calycanthus floridus
Also known as Carolina allspice, this fragrant deciduous shrub, native to the Southeastern U.S., grows 3 to 8 feet tall and up to ten feet wide. Essentail oil is distilled from the flowers, and... more->
Ribes nigrum 'Minaj Smyriou'
'Minaj Smyriou' has excellent European black currant flavorand can be eaten fresh or used to make jam and juice.
European black currants have a very distinct musky flavor which is prized by... more->
Hibiscus syriacus 'Red Heart'
'Red Heart' has a white bloom with a red center and grows very vigorously in our climate. I've seen shrubs over 6 feet tall. more->
Ribes rubrum 'Cascade'
'Cascade' is easy to grow and a consistent producer here in the Wilamette Valley. Provides large crops of delicious red fruit. It is very winter hardy.
Red currants produce bright red... more->
Rosmarinus officinalis 'Tuscan Blue'
One of the most popular upright rosemary varieties, Tuscan Blue has a blue-green hint to its foliage, and blue-purple flowers.
The Latin name Rosmarinus refers to the dew (ros) of the sea (... more->
Salvia apiana
The dried leaf of white sage is well known for its aroma and is excellent for smudging.
Not native to our area, it does best grown in a pot with half sand half potting soil, or planted in... more->
Rosmarinus officinalis 'Goriza'
Rosmarinus officinalis 'Huntington carpet'
Ribes oxyacanthoides 'Jahn's Prairie'
A favorite gooseberry here at Fern Hill, 'Jahn's Prairie' produces hearty yields of large dessert quality red-pink fruit in midsummer. This shrub grows more upright than some gooseberry varietes.... more->
Ribes uva-crispa 'Hinnomaki Gold'
'Hinnomaki Gold' also known as 'Hinnomaki Yellow" is a very hardy variety, and bushes produce a heavy crop of medium sized, greenish yellow fruits. Some say this variety has a delicious aromatic... more->
Asclepias syriaca
Common milkweed is very similar to our native showy milkweed, but native to eastern North America. This species is just as showy as the showy milkweed in our garden but a little more pink than... more->
Lonicera involucrata var. involucrata
Black twinberry, native to Oregon, is an excellent hummingbird plant. This deciduous shrub can grow up to 6 feet tall and 10 feet wide. It can grow in sun or part shade. Flowers are bright... more->
Salvia officinalis
No herb garden is complete without this fragrant and savory leaf to add to pasta sauce, soup stock and more. Sage also produces beautiful and edible pink flowers that attract pollinators.... 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->
Penstemon serrulatus
We have had great success growing this native penstemon in our gardens. A perennial with striking purple flowers stalks that bloom in mid-summer, Cascade penstemon is easy to grow in our climate.... 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->
Aquilegia formosa
A beautiful wildflower, our native columbine blooms yellow and red. In garden soil and part shade, columbine may grow up to 3 feet tall and wide. Delicate flowers bloom in late spring. Great... 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->
Ribes uva-crispa 'Invicta'
'Invicta' produces high yields of large dessert quality green fruit, and is considered by many to be the best variety in North America. It has excellent flavor, is mildew resistant, and is more... more->
Aster subspicatus
This native member of the sunflower family spreads quickly in poor soil with very little care and without summer irrigation. It has spreading blue-flowered aster blossoms late in the summer to... more->
Lupinus polyphyllus
This perennial produces massive flowering stalks several feet tall that smell sweet and attract bees. Native to wetlands in the Willamette Valley and the Pacific Northwest, it performs really... more->
Salvia sclarea
With the sweet and spicy aroma of grapefruit and pine, clary sage brightens our day with its scent as well as with its spikes of white and purple flowers. This biennial starts out the first year... more->
Echinacea purpurea
This is the easiest to grow of all the Echinacea species in our area. It is very cold hardy, and sends down a multitude of pencil-sized roots. The bees and butterflies frequent the bright purple... more->
Aralia californica
Although some know it as California ginseng, elk clover, or spikenard, I think Oregon ginseng is quite fitting for a plant that inhabits shady, moist seasonal creeks in deep coniferous forests as... more->
Ribes x nidigrolaria
Jostaberry is a cross between european currants and gooseberries, taking the best from both. It is a thornless shrub producing dark fruits with a mild black currant flavor. The fruit is larger... more->
Baccharis pilularis
Coyote brush is an evergreen shrub native to Oregon. It is drought tolerant, deer tolerant, and easy to grow. Fast growing, it can grow as high as nine feet but usually is shorter. It responds... more->
Lupinus rivularis
This perennial produces gorgeous purple flowering stalks in full sun or part shade. A Willamette Valley native, it tolerates drought and poor soil with root nodules that fix nitrogen. Deer... more->
Sedum oreganum
Oregon stonecrop has glossy green leaves that look like little elephant toes. I think it has the best-tasting leaves of any native Sedum. 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->
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->
Phlomis fruticosa
A showy evergreen shrub, Jerusalem Sage is an easy to grow plant for a sunny location. Deer tolerant and drought tolerant, it grows quickly but never gets more than a few feet high when blooming... 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->
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->
Rosa nutkana var. nutkana
This native rose shrub has the largest pink flowers of the Oregon species. They perfume the woods when they bloom in May! more->
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