Harmful if chewedSwiss cheese plant
Monstera, about 60 cm tall. Harmful to pets and children if chewed or eaten
$34
Grown here, ready for your garden
Fernhill grows houseplants, shrubs, trees and garden plants in its own glasshouses and fields. Shop online for collection from the yard or local delivery, and look for the plain warning on any plant that can harm children or pets if eaten.
1 yearguarantee on hardy plants
25 kmlocal delivery radius
2 hoursto ready a collection
- Raised in our own glasshouses
- Local delivery Tuesday and Friday
- Collect from the yard
- Hardy plants guaranteed for a year
In the sales yard now
Sizes are measured from the top of the pot. Plants that can harm children or pets if eaten carry a warning on the card, on the label and in the yard.
Harmful if chewed
Spider plant
Trailing houseplant in a 12 cm pot, generally considered safe around cats and dogs
$12
Harmful if eatenBigleaf hydrangea
3 litre pot; blue flowers stay blue only in acid soil. Harmful if eaten
$32
Japanese maple
10 litre pot, about 1.2 m tall, for part shade
$95
Olive tree
12 litre pot, about 1.5 m tall, evergreen for a sunny patio
$78
Poisonous if eatenFoxglove, tray of six
Tall spikes for shade. Every part is poisonous if eaten
$24
Harmful to petsEnglish lavender
2 litre pot for sun and dry soil. Can make pets ill if eaten
$11
Priced by lengthBeech or hornbeam hedging
Potted all year or bare root in winter, three plants to the metre
Price on enquiry
EnquireThe delivery fee is added at checkout. Hardy plants that die within a year of planting in a suitable spot are replaced; houseplants are covered for 30 days.
Plants, children and pets
Plenty of popular plants are harmful if eaten. Each one below is labelled in the yard, and the team can suggest gentler choices for a home with a crawling baby, a curious cat or a dog that chews.
| Plant | Who it can harm | If it is eaten |
|---|---|---|
| Foxglove | People, cats and dogs | Every part is poisonous and can affect the heart |
| Yew | People, pets and horses | Leaves and seeds are highly poisonous |
| Lilies and daylilies | Cats above all | Even a little pollen or vase water can cause kidney failure in cats |
| Monstera, peace lily | Pets and children | Sap irritates the mouth and throat, causing drooling and swelling |
| Hydrangea, lavender | Cats and dogs | Can cause vomiting and an upset stomach |
| Spider plant, calathea | Generally considered safe | Can still upset a stomach if eaten in quantity |
This is a short guide, not a complete list. If a child eats part of a plant, call your local emergency number or poison information service; if a pet does, call your vet straight away, and take the plant or its label with you.
Grown here, not just sold here
Most of our shrubs, perennials and houseplants start life in the Fernhill glasshouses as seed or cuttings, and the hardy ones spend at least one winter outside before they are sold. Plants raised in local weather settle into local gardens faster than ones brought in from a warmer climate.
We pot into compost made without peat, water from tanks that collect rain off the glasshouse roofs, and check every plant for pests before it reaches the sales yard.
- Raised from seed and cuttings on site
- Compost made without peat
- Checked for pests before sale
Planting a shrub or tree
Autumn and spring are the easiest seasons to plant, while the soil is moist and warm enough for roots to grow. Water is what a new plant misses most in its first year.
Soak the roots
Stand the pot in a bucket of water for twenty minutes, until the bubbles stop rising.
Dig wide, not deep
Make the hole twice as wide as the pot but no deeper, and loosen the soil around its sides.
Plant at the same level
Tease out circling roots, set the plant at the depth it grew in the pot, then firm the soil and water well.
Water through summer
Give a full can each week in dry spells through the first summer, and spread mulch to hold the moisture in.
Collection, delivery and planting
Choose collection or delivery at checkout. Plants travel upright in our own van, never squeezed into a parcel box.
| Option | Details | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Collect from the yard | Ready within two hours, with trolleys and help loading the car | No charge |
| Local delivery | Tuesdays and Fridays within 25 km, plants set down where you ask | $8 |
| Large trees and bulk orders | Trees over 2 m or more than 30 plants, unloaded by two people | $25 |
| Planting visit | Our gardeners plant the order and leave written care notes | $45 an hour |
Plants are not posted or sent abroad. Rules on moving plants, soil and seeds between countries and regions vary, and many places ask for a plant health certificate, so we deliver locally only.
Around the nursery
Glasshouses, the sales yard and the tree field, open to visitors every day.
From gardens we have stocked (example reviews)
The team steered us away from lilies the moment they heard about our two cats, then found three flowering plants that are kinder to have around them.
Forty beech plants went in on a Friday with written care notes, and every single one came into leaf the following spring.
The olive arrived upright, tied in and placed exactly where the old pot stood. Two summers on, it is carrying fruit.
Questions gardeners ask
Which plants suit a home with pets or young children?
Many popular plants are harmful if eaten, so each one carries a plain warning on its label and on this page. Tell us who shares your home and we suggest plants generally considered safe, but keep any plant away from a pet or child that chews, and call your vet or your local emergency number if one is eaten.
Can you post plants to another region or country?
No. Rules on moving plants and soil differ between countries and regions, and some need a plant health certificate, so we sell for collection and local delivery only.
What does the plant guarantee cover?
Hardy plants planted in a suitable spot and watered through their first summer are replaced if they die within a year. Houseplants are covered for 30 days. Bring the plant or its label back to the yard and we sort it out on the spot.
When is the best time to plant?
Autumn and spring suit most shrubs, trees and perennials, because the soil is moist and roots can grow before the heat. Potted plants can go in at other times too, as long as they are watered well and the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged.
How hardy is the olive tree?
An established olive copes with short spells down to about minus 8 °C (18 °F) in soil that drains well. In colder areas, keep it in a pot and move it under cover for the coldest weeks.
Do you sell bare root trees and hedging?
Yes, from late autumn to early spring while the plants are dormant. Bare root plants cost less and establish well, but they need planting within a few days or heeling into loose soil until you are ready.
Ask the growers
Ask about hedging by the metre, book a planting visit or describe a bed you want to fill. We reply within two working days with plant suggestions and a written quote.
- Hedging priced by length and height
- Planting visits within 25 km
- Payment arranged directly with the nursery
Visit the nursery
Park beside the sales yard; trolleys wait by the gate and the team helps load anything heavy.
Opening hours
| Monday to Saturday | 08:30 to 17:30 |
| Sunday | 10:00 to 16:00 |
| Public holidays | 10:00 to 14:00 |
Saturday plant clinic
Bring a leaf or a struggling plant in a bag on Saturday mornings, and a grower will try to work out what is wrong. If a person or pet has eaten a plant, call your local emergency number or your vet rather than waiting for the clinic.