Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena'
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!
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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->
Myrica californica
Pacific waxmyrtle is an evergeen shrub/small tree native to the west coast of North America. It can grow 5-30 feet tall and has sticky leaves and a waxy wrinkled purple berry. It is a great... 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->
Morus x 'Illinois Everbearing'
Because the fruits on 'Illinois Everbearing' ripen over a period of a few months, not all at once, its is nice to have a shorter plants for harvesting them often. The fruit is dark purple and has... 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->
Ficus carica 'Desert King'
'Desert King' is a very good choice for the Northwest. It is early to ripen, productive, and has excellent flavor. Sweet and delicious fruits with green skin and pink pulp ripen in late July or... 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->
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 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->
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->
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->
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->
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->
Sidalcea virgata
We love this late spring blooming native wildflower that we often find on the edges of meadows. In the hollyhock family, this perennial grows only about a foot to two feet tall at most. It sends... more->
Atriplex halimus
Saltbush is a wonderful choice for year-round edible raw greens. This shrub is semi-evergreen and will provide mildly salty spinach flavored leaves throughout the year. Some cold years, it can... 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->
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->
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->
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->
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->
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->
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->
Arnica chamissonis
This arnica is native to western North America and is as potent as Arnica montana. It is a low growing, slowly spreading herbaceous perennial that prefers full sun to part shade and... 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->
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->
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->
Baccharis magellenica
Christmas bush is a great choice for evergreen ground cover on rock walls or slopes or ornamental gardens. The branches are dense and compact, creating a mat of tiny leaves about 6 inches tall... more->
Levisticum officinale
Lovage is an excellent addition to a perennial vegetable garden. Bursting forth in spring, this plant can shoot up to six or seven feet tall each year. The aromatic leaves have a flavor similar to... 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->
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