Salvia miltiorrhiza
Red sage, also known as Dan Shen, is a perennial sage with whorls of purple flowers in late summer. This species is popular in Chinese, Japanese, and European herbal traditions for circulation... 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!
Edible flowers
So many colors! Sweet nectar! Delicious and so good for you!
We love to add a dash of colorful calendula, borage, and bachelor's button flowers to our salads on special occasions. Sweet violets, soft rose petals, and silky purple mallow flowers delight guests as they enjoy a summertime dessert. At just the sight of the hibiscus-shaped flowers of rose of sharon, you feel like you're on a tropical island - taste the sweet nectar and marshmallow softness of that flower stuffed with a bite of scrumptious dessert, and that little slice of paradise transforms your kitchen too!
Several restaurants use edible flowers harvested here at Fern Hill in their local and seasonal menus.
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->
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->
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->
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->
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->
Thymus vulgaris 'French'
French thyme has very small, pointy leaves. It is the most drought tolerant and has the most spicy flavor of the thyme varieties we grow. more->
Salvia officinalis 'Garden Grey'
This variety of culinary sage bears extra large pink flowers on taller stalks than the common seed-grown sage. Although some ornamental sages have been bred so that they are no longer flavorful,... more->
Thymus × citriodorus 'Silver Queen'
This is a lemon thyme that is variegated with slivery grey-green foliage. It makes a very nice contract interplanted with lemon variegated thyme. 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->
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 '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->
Fragaria vesca
Native throughout most of the northern hemisphere, alpine strawberry is that amazingly sweet wild strawberry you remember from childhood. Small fruits pack superb flavor. Plants are vigorous in... more->
Ribes sanguineum var sanguineum
This is one of the earliest blooming and showiest shrubs in the Pacific Northwest! Red flowering currant is a very popular plant for a variety of reasons. The large clusters of pink-red flowers... 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->
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->
Allium fistulosum
This purple and white onion grows round bulbs in clusters that are firm, crisp, and have delicious savory flavor. 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->
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->
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->
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->
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->
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->
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 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->
Malva moschata
Edible flowers and leaves make muskmallow a great perennial for a sunny garden. It starts growing in early spring and blooms a deep pink in late spring through summer. Our plants bloom profusely... more->
Sedum spathulifolium 'Cape Blanco'
This grey-leaved and beautifully patterned stonecrop grows the fastest of any Sedum species in our gardens. The leaves are a bit more chalky and less palatable than the others, though.... more->
Aloysia triphylla
Lemon verbena is one of our favorite tea plants. Fast growing in warm weather, aromatic leaves have a strong lemon flavor. We steep it fresh or dry it to enjoy all winter. It prefers full sun... 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->
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->
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->
Mentha × piperita
While you can find dozens of varieties of mint for your garden, we focus on cultivating peppermint because it is the best mint for soothing upset stomachs, relieving headaches, and cooling... more->
Sidalcea campestris
Native to sunny meadows and dappled shade of open woodlands in the Willamette Valley, meadow checkermallow created a gorgeous display of light pink blossoms up to 6 feet tall. In the shade it may... 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->
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->
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->
Rosa pisocarpa
Clustered wild rose is native to the Willamette Valley and other parts of the Pacific Northwest. It is a spreading woody shrub, growing up to 6 feet tall. It is a great and easy to grow wildlife... more->
Monarda didyma
This variety produces 3-foot tall displays of crimson red inflorescences composed of tubular flowers. It is a sight to see! A favorite for hummingbirds. more->
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