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->
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
Satureja douglasii
A native perennial in the mint family, yerba buena likes dappled shade and handles a wide variety of soil from deep rich organic matter to nutrient poor clay. Once established, it can handle... 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->
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->
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->
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->
Geranium oreganum
A beautiful perennial native to Oregon, Oregon geranium is very showy. Growing about a foot in height and wide, it has profuse pink blooms in late spring and early summer. It thrives in full sun... more->
Opuntia ficus-indica
This is a compact variety of prickly pear cactus that has edible green pads with no thick spines and small clusters of tiny hair-like prickles. Unlike prickly pear shrubs, this variety stays... more->
Berberis aquifolium
Tall Oregon grape is a woody perennial shrub in the barberry family that is tough enough to survive in many conditions and yet provides edible and medicinal yields. It grows 2-7 feet tall in well... 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->
Grindelia integrifolia
This native perennial in the sunflower family grows into a small shrub each season, bearing yellow flowers covered in sticky white resin. It thrives in sunny spots with moisture and tolerates... more->
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->
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->
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