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!

We really enjoyed creating a beautiful and educational botanical display during plant sales at the Lane County Farmer's Market, Mt. Pisgah Arboretum Wildflower Festival and Mushroom Festival, Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Sale, Mountain Rose Herbs Free Herbalism Project, and other events!

We also love to teach workshops to help people learn about how to grow and use the herbs that we use to keep our family healthy.

Here are some examples of the workshops we have offered in the past.

Workshops

2016 Lane County Propagaion Fair

March 26, 2016 at 11:00 AM- 4:00 PM Pacific
Workshops

Brian will be giving a presentation at 11:30 AM entitled: Ten Essential Medicinal Plants for the Northwest Garden.

The fair is located at the Old Whitaker School, 21 North Grand in Eugene.

Growing an Herbal Medicine Chest for the Family

Growing an Herbal Medicine Chest for the Family

September 18, 2016 at 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM Pacific
Workshops

During this workshop, Brian Basor, co-owner and manager of Fern Hill Nursery and Botanical Sanctuary, will share an outline of his strategies for growing and harvesting medicinal plants to have on hand for family illnesses and discomforts, as well as those that help support optimum health.  We will cover a list of common ailments and remedies, plus explore how to grow and preserve the useful herbs that are most important to have fresh from the garden instead of purchased from far away.

With an abundance of information about medicinal herbs, it’s easy to get distracted by plants that are hard to grow or that you won’t ever actually use.  In this workshop, we will focus directly on the essential medicinal herbs to grow in your garden.  We will use all of our senses to explore how these herbs taste and smell, how to help them thrive in the garden, and how to prepare these plants to support the health of you and your family.  When you learn how to care for these plants, they will help take care of you!

The cost for the workshop is $40 per person, $75 per couple.

**Pre-registration is required, with a $25 deposit.

Please bring appropriate outdoor clothing, a water bottle, and a lunch.

Herbal Hay Fever Remedies: Transforming Allergies from a Battle into a Li'l Sneeze

June 12, 2016 at 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM Pacific
Workshops

Join Brian Basor, herbalist and co-owner of Fern Hill Nursery and Botanical Sanctuary, in a workshop  focused on herbal remedies to prevent and treat hay fever (and other allergies for that matter).  After over a decade of choosing between flu-like misery and over-the-counter drugs for his hay fever, not to mention herbal remedies that didn’t work, Brian now teaches about herbs and nutrition that work to prevent symptoms before they start.  Participants will make and taste herbal infusions from fresh and dry plants and take home recipes they can immediately put to use.

The cost for the workshop is $40 per person, $75 per couple.

**Pre-registration is required, with a $25 deposit.

Please bring appropriate outdoor clothing, a water bottle, and a lunch.

All Natural Advanced Softwood Propagation

All Natural Advanced Softwood Propagation

July 18, 2015 at 9:00 AM- 4:00 PM Pacific
Workshops

In the workshop, Brian Basor, co-owner and manager of Fern Hill Nursery, will share his knowledge and expertise in softwood plant propagation without synthetic rooting hormones nor fungicides.  Brian has personally managed the production of hundreds of thousands of softwood cuttings over many seasons working at other nurseries, and over ten thousand softwood cuttings here at Fern Hill Nursery.  He has continued to refine his techniques as the head of propagation for our nursery.

Chemical rooting hormones and fungicides are completely unnecessary when you know how to support the plants!  Students will learn plant anatomy and physiology relevant to adventitious rooting, how to set up professional equipment for managing environmental conditions in the rooting greenhouse, how to choose media for different rooting situations, how to solve common problems, and species that are easy vs. difficult to root.  Students will also gain hands-on experience taking cuttings, sticking plug trays, and observing cuttings at various stages of growth.  Everyone will receive a self-contained basic rooting kit for home use and cuttings to root at home.

The cost for the workshop is $90 per person.

**Pre-registration is required, with a $25 deposit.

Please bring appropriate outdoor clothing, a water bottle, and a lunch.

Essential Medicinal Plants Workshop at Aprovecho Educational Center

July 5, 2015 at 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM Pacific
Workshops

During this workshop at Aprovecho Sustainability Education Center, Brian Basor, co-owner and manager of Fern Hill Nursery and Botanical Sanctuary, will share his experience with ten plants that he believes are essential for a local medicinal garden.  Brian will discuss identification, cultivation, and harvest of these particular species and introduce you to examples growing in the Aprovecho gardens and fields.  He will explain how each plant is processed for medicinal use, and the herbal actions involved in healing via poultices, tea, infusions, salves, tinctures, and more.

With an abundance of information about medicinal herbs, it’s easy to get distracted by plants that are hard to grow or that you won’t ever actually use.  In this workshop, you will focus directly on the essential medicinal herbs to grow in your garden.  We will use all of our senses to explore how these herbs taste and smell, how to help them thrive in the garden, and how to prepare these plants to support the health of you and your family.  When you learn how to care for these plants, they will help take care of you!

Aprovecho Sustainability Education Center is located at 80574 Hazelton Rd., Cottage Grove, 97424.  Pre-registration is required.

Growing Edible and Medicinal Native Plants

Growing Edible and Medicinal Native Plants

October 3, 2015 at 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM Pacific
Workshops

Native plants can provide so much more than habitat for native wildlife!  Learn about the many benefits of including native plants in your garden in this fun and informative workshop.  Co-taught by Devon Bonady and Brian Basor, this workshop will explore some of the special native plants in our region that we use for food and medicine.  We will introduce the plants in our garden, practice identification, and discuss cultivation, harvest, and processing.  We may also get a chance to harvest, process and eat some of the plants. 

The cost for the workshop is $40 per person, $75 per couple.

**Pre-registration is required, with a $25 deposit.

Please bring appropriate outdoor clothing, a water bottle, and a lunch.

Herbal Hay Fever Remedies: Transforming Allergies from a Battle into a Li'l Sneeze

Herbal Hay Fever Remedies: Transforming Allergies from a Battle into a Li'l Sneeze

June 23, 2015 at 5:30 PM- 7:30 PM Pacific
Workshops

Join Brian Basor, herbalist and co-owner of Fern Hill Nursery and Botanical Sanctuary, in a workshop at the InJoy Wellness Center focused on herbal remedies to prevent and treat hay fever (and other allergies for that matter).  After over a decade of choosing between flu-like misery and over-the-counter drugs for his hay fever, not to mention herbal remedies that didn’t work, Brian now teaches about herbs and nutrition that work to prevent symptoms before they start.  Participants will make and taste herbal infusions from fresh and dry plants and take home recipes they can immediately put to use.

The InJoy Wellness Center is located near Sweet Life at 775 Monroe Street, Eugene, OR 97402.

The cost for the workshop is $20 per person.  Pre-registration is required.

Plant Nutrition and Soil Fertility

September 12, 2015 at 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM Pacific
Workshops

In this workshop, Brian Basor, co-owner and manager of Fern Hill Nursery and Botanical Sanctuary, will dive deep into the topic of soil fertility and plant nutrition in gardening as a method of achieving optimal human nutrition.  Students will learn about how soil provides nutrition to plants and how the roots utilize it.  We will explore how to assess the nutrient status of the soil, how to compare fertilizer products, and practical ways to amend the soil.  We’ll also cover how to recognize and correct common nutrient deficiencies and pH problems with acidic and alkaline conditions.

The cost for the workshop is $40 per person, $75 per couple.

**Pre-registration is required, with a $25 deposit.

Please bring appropriate outdoor clothing, a water bottle, and a lunch.

Ten Essential Medicinal Plants for the Northwest Garden

July 7, 2015 at 5:30 PM- 7:30 PM Pacific
Workshops

During this workshop, Brian Basor, herbalist and co-owner of Fern Hill Nursery and Botanical Sanctuary, will share his experience with ten plants that he believes are essential for a local medicinal garden.  Brian will discuss identification, cultivation, and harvest of these particular species and introduce you to live plants in pots and in the InJoy Wellness garden.  He will explain how each plant is processed for medicinal use, and the herbal actions involved in healing.  Participants will make herbal teas, infusions, and other goodies in the InJoy kitchen, and will use all of their senses to explore how these herbs taste, smell, and keep us healthy.

The InJoy Wellness Center is located near Sweet Life at 775 Monroe Street, Eugene, OR 97402.

The cost for the workshop is $20 per person.  Pre-registration is required.

Ten Essential Medicinals for the Northwest Garden

Ten Essential Medicinals for the Northwest Garden

May 31, 2015 at 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM Pacific
Workshops

During this workshop, Brian Basor, co-owner and manager of Fern Hill Nursery and Botanical Sanctuary, will share his expertise and experience with at least ten plants that he believes are essential for a local medicinal garden.  Brian will discuss identification, cultivation, and harvest of these particular species and introduce you to the specimens growing in our sanctuary.  He will explain how each plant is processed for medicinal use, and the herbal actions involved in healing.

With an abundance of information about medicinal herbs, it’s easy to get distracted by plants that are hard to grow or that you won’t ever actually use.  In this workshop, we will focus directly on the essential medicinal herbs to grow in your garden.  We will use all of our senses to explore how these herbs taste and smell, how to help them thrive in the garden, and how to prepare these plants to support the health of you and your family.  When you learn how to care for these plants, they will help take care of you!

The cost for the workshop is $40 per person, $75 per couple.

**Pre-registration is required, with a $25 deposit.

Please bring appropriate outdoor clothing, a water bottle, and a lunch.