Nestled in picturesque midcoast Maine in the beautiful town of Montville, Fernwood Nursery specializes in native and woodland plants hardy to this area. Gardening should be fun, so we carefully choose plants that do not need staking, spraying or extra mulch in order for you to have gorgeous plants that overwinter well.
We have one of the largest collections of shade tolerant plants in New England, most of which are propagated here at the nursery. While we pride ourselves in our exclusive cultivars, you will also find plants from all around the world that have proven to do well in our climate.
Hybridizing and evaluating numerous species, variants and cultivars of plants is an ongoing process that we truly enjoy at Fernwood. Alongside our nursery you can visit our lush display beds where we demonstrate how our plants can be used in an aesthetically pleasing way while requiring the least amount of care. These beds contain some plants that may not yet be available for purchase as we continue to test and develop our stock. No doubt, though, you will find some things you can’t live without among our hundreds of hostas, ferns, and wildflowers, many of which you’ll find only at Fernwood Nursery.
Hair cuts are desperately needed!
You’ll find a lot of information on this site but nothing beats a visit. Come and see us. We’d love to chat about gardening, Maine and sustainable living.
Hours of Operation are 9am to 5pm Wednesday through Sunday
Closed Monday and Tuesday
May (check blog for exact opening day in May) through September ( check blog for exact closing date).
October by appointment (207)589-4726
Erythronium sibiricum
Fernwood Nursery & Gardens 
We would like to thank-you so much for letting us look at your hostas on your day off. We had been saying that we were going to stop at look at your hostas sometime….our sometime was this past Monday. We really enjoyed looking at the variety of plants you have. We plan another trip out, at your regular time open. Thank-you again for your hospitality.
You’re very welcome Linda……and thank you for the kind note. Hope to see you again,
Denise and Rick
Wow! You are totally living my dream… I am in awe! This blog is utterly inspirational. Thank you so much for the follow; I feel like a charity case in comparison!
Thank you! I am enjoying your blog as well and think you may be being too hard on yourself, from the looks you are doing amazing things , intent on creating sustainability in a small home. Love the potato post….who doesn’t love potatoes! Just heard a talk on NPR about de-cluttering ( you wouldn’t believe what I have saved!). The suggestion was to come up with a number you will allow yourself for saving a particular item. Like jars, do I really need 100 spare jars? ( Canning jars don’t count, we need those for sue). So I decide to keep a certain number and gift or recycle the remainder. I’m working on this! I think one of the best things about these blogs are the things we are able to share with one another, it’s a great medium for that. I’m looking forward to reading your blog!
denise
Thank you so much; that’s such a lovely reply! I’m a bit of a hoarder by nature and unfortunately ‘make do and mend’ encourages this quite a lot. But if I can give things away or recycle them, rather than bin them, it makes me feel better and afterwards, I actually feel ‘lighter’.
Looking forward to your updates too – the lambs in particular!
After receiving your in-depth reply on my recent post ‘fruitless pursuits…’ and having just begun to follow one another, I decided to look about your blog a bit more before responding. It seems I can’t get ten minutes on my tush to concentrate here. Not to make excuses, but just to let you know I am excited to have your advice and really delighted to see you have been blogging for so long, meaning so much documented for me to peruse. I am anxious to spend more time here later today and have a more meaningful reply than if I were to do so now. Really impressed so far and feel your presence and attentiveness to my position are such gifts!! Thank you in advance and I shall have more to say soon. Melissa Xx
Oh, how I would love to visit your nursery 😉 We have a similiar family owned nursery nearby specializing in shade perennials. We just love to visit and enjoy their display gardens. I’ll have to add Maine to my ‘travel wish list’ now 😉 Best wishes, WG
Come along! Maine is a beautiful place to visit and explore. We feel very fortunate to live in such a wonderful state. Enjoy the unfurling of spring! DS
What an invitation! I hope to do that one day. Maybe in the heat of summer when Virginia is too hot to handle! My next scheduled trip is to visit daughter and her daughter in Oregon. Holding the little one and watching her learn to walk has a claim on my time and travel budget this spring 😉 I imagine you understand exactly why, too 😉
Hi Denise and Rick, Faye and I had a Blast Sunday playing in the Mud. I can’t wait to unmold my Hypertufa planter!
Hello Jim and Faye, excellent, so glad you came! We had fun too, we always have such a great group for the hypertufa class. Keeping the class size relatively small, having both Rick and i available for help and questions, i think makes a difference. We loved having you……let us know how the unmolding goes.
denise
Are you open now? I would love to come see your yarn
Hi Angela,
The nursery is closed ( plant sales) but I can arrange to be around for purchasing yarn. Are you near by? Thanks for the inquiry. denise
I was just told that you grow primula and was wondering when you will be opening so I can come visit. I have some shady spots but they are quite damp so not sure if they are suitable for primroses. I was told you may be able to give me some guidance on the subject of primroses. Thanks
Hi Sharon,
We do grow primulas and have some different varieties. Primula japonica is a great cultivar for a wet area and will also tolerate some shade. A visit to the nursery may help with making some decisions and we’d be glad to share ideas with you. Thank you for reading and see you soon!
denise