Quiet gardens, grown from your own yard
Fernwood is a Portland garden design studio creating native-plant gardens, cottage gardens, vegetable beds and small urban yards. We take you from a first conversation to a full planting plan, installation and seasonal care.
Four ways to grow a garden
Whether you want a yard that feeds local pollinators, a romantic tumble of cottage blooms, beds of vegetables outside the kitchen door or a clever small urban space, each design starts with your site and how you live in it.
A yard that feeds local pollinators and belongs in Portland’s soils, rains and dry summers.
roots in the regionA romantic tumble of cottage blooms, layered and generous, shaped around the way you live in the yard.
loose, but plannedBeds of vegetables steps from the kitchen door, set where the light falls and your hands can reach.
pick, rinse, cookA clever small urban space, planned to the inch, where every plant and path has to earn its place.
small, not simplePlant for the place you live
Portland has its own soils, rains, dry summers and wildlife. Fernwood designs gardens that respond to that setting, with native plantings at the heart of the studio’s work alongside cottage and edible gardens.
A garden should sound like where it grows.
- soils
- rains
- dry summers
- wildlife
From first sketch to the changing seasons
Start with a design consultation, then receive a full planting plan drawn for your space. Fernwood can handle installation, and seasonal garden care keeps the garden healthy as it matures.
- Design consultationfrom $250
- Full planting plansdrawn for your space
- Installationspade to soil
- Seasonal garden careas it matures
“Slowly, then all at once, the yard becomes a garden.”a note in the margin
A garden grows in stages
It begins with a consultation about your yard, your tastes and how you want to use the space. From there comes a planting plan, then installation, and then seasonal care to carry the garden through the year.
- i.ConsultColloquium
- ii.PlanConsilium
- iii.PlantSatio
- iv.TendCultura
Small yards, generous gardens
A narrow side yard, a courtyard or a modest city lot can hold a lot of beauty. Fernwood designs small urban yards so every square foot has a purpose, whether that is color, habitat, herbs or a place to sit.
- Courtyards
- Side yards
- Patios and containers
- Compact vegetable beds
“Every square foot earns its place.”— a note from the drawing table
Plate V · The first conversation
Let’s draw up your garden
Design consultations start at $250. Tell us about your yard and what you’d love to grow, and Fernwood will be in touch to arrange your consultation.