Historic gardens, nestled between the coastal forest and the ocean, are the home of The Stanford Inn By The Sea. Big River Nurseries is our California Certified Organic garden. We offer produce and herbs to selected restaurants and grocers. As a retail nursery, we provide ornamental plants, herbal wreaths, sprays, braids, spices and herbs. We provide vegetables and herbs to our dining room.

Using French intensive, biointensive, and organic methods, we raise a wide variety of lettuces, cabbages, spinach, radishes and gourmet vegetables such as radicchio, mizuna, arugula, and tah tsai. Some beds are used to provide cut flowers and others are rose beds. We are also experimenting with a wide variety of fruit trees, learning which will flourish on the coast.

We are excited by our gardens - particularly in that we can present this approach of gardening/farming to you. It is productive and beautiful while remaining in balance with nature.

Practicing sustainable and organic farming for over 22 years.

!We are dedicated to responsible farming, your health as well as the health of the present and future planet.

The gardens are "double dug," raised beds to enable better use of square footage and to reduce erosion.

Those who work in our gardens share the Inn's philosophy of caring for plants, animals and people alike.

Demonstration salad gardens line the Inn's decks.

View of our central gardens, looking west. To the left, or south side is Berry Hill with cut flowers and berry vines. Across the road and to the north are additional produce gardens. >>>