Helia Native Nursery (HNN) is nestled between the Berkshire hills and the Taconic ridge, in a valley, featuring biodiverse forest and meadows, regenerating after generations of timber harvesting and agriculture.
The nursery is part of the 109-acres of Sky Meadow Farm, where sunlight, wind and water intersect abundantly. A trail weaves a circle through the dynamic land: a restored fen, wildflower meadows, rich woodlands and old tree growth.
The nursery grows native perennials, trees and shrubs, preserving native genotypes through seed banking. Our plants are available for the landscaping community, homeowners, and nature enthusiasts. Many of the species we propagate are rare, comparable to what's sold by the standard nursery industry. Our techniques of propagation are strictly earth-based. We use the highest quality organic potting material, compost, topsoil from the farm, and mulch to create a diverse soil food web.
We use a passive solar greenhouse, reuse all our pots and are conscious about our daily water use and we have a strict non-chemical approach to plant propagation.
HNN has tended to thousands of plants, predominantly unique Berkshire County genotypes—waking from dormancy after the winter and there are constantly new plants germinating in the seed bank, which was built with funding made possible by the Alford Land Trust.
Helia recognizes that local and global ecosystems are becoming exponentially threatened by climate change, pollution and development, we've made it our mission to protect native plant diversity, create and enhance habitats for birds, butterflies, pollinators, amphibians, and dragonflies, and thus support a resilient ecosystem.
At the farm, both the Nursery and Helia Land Design, our congruent and innovative land design team, focus on restoring wildflower meadows, woodlands, and wetlands and creating sacred spaces for humans, animals and plants alike. Helia Land Design follows this same model of land stewardship when working on client lands.
Three years ago, HNN was founded by horticulturalist and landscape designer Bridghe McCracken, after the sale of Project Native, a non-profit where she was Chief Landscape Designer for ten years. The founding of HNN was a solution to continue her and Project Native’s mission to save unique Berkshire native plant seed and propagate plants from those seeds, to be sold to landscape design clients and the public, part of an effort to restore and expand the strained ecosystem in the Berkshires.
For Media and Nursery Inquiries, please contact a HNN staff member at (413) 528-1400, helianativenursery@gmail.com
Open house weekends of the 2025 season
We will only be open for plant purchases and pick ups on these dates. So mark your calendars!
May
May 8th, 9th & 10th from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
May 15th, 16th & 17th from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
May 22nd, 23rd & 24th from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
May 29th, 30th & 31st from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
June
June 5th, 6th & 7th from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
June 12th, 13th & 14th 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
July
July 3rd from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
July 5th from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
August
August 7th, 8th & 9th from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
September
September 11th, 12th & 13th from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
October
October 9th, 10th, 11th from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
