PEORIA MAGAZINE June 2023

C O V E R

A HEAPING SLICE OF HOSTA HEAVEN (AND MORE) For nearly 40 years, Hornbaker Gardens outside Princeton has been drawing visitors from far and wide to its plant paradise

BY TERRY BIBO PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

farm to chrysanthemum wholesaler to hosta host to arboretum/botanical garden/wedding destination. “We’ve been planting the whole time,” said 74-year-old Rich Hornbaker, with no small satisfaction. WORTH THE DRIVE Peoria has fine floral options, but noodling north up Illinois Route 29 to Princeton is well worth the 55-mile drive. (If you need another nudge, Bradley University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute has a visit scheduled for Aug. 23.) “It’s such a unique place, people want to drive here for it,” said Jenica Cole, executive director of the Princeton Area Chamber of Commerce. She calls it a “top draw” and “premiere venue.” She should know: The Chamber had its annual meeting there a couple days earlier. On a recent spring day, the Illinois River valley was awash with misty green new leaves and pale pink redbuds. The drive alone was lovely enough to divert the unwary from the nursery turnoff. “You’re not going to come on us by accident,” said a laughing Marcie

Jaggers, the one-time secretary and current office manager. “People take the day off to come.” A GREEN INDUSTRIAL EVOLUTION Now in her 20th year there, Jaggers’ more business-like title reflects the changing garden business and Hornbaker’s odyssey in particular. In 1976, Rich and Kathy Hornbaker bought 14 acres in the country south of Princeton as their own private refuge. A dissatisfied lawyer and teacher, respectively, they opted to home-school their three children in the house they built there. The family grew berries for sale. Then it was mums, then perennials, mostly as wholesalers. “I grew up on the farm,” said Dave Hornbaker, now 39, who recalls toting plant pots to trailers. “We’ve come a long way. A little bit added every year.” Hornbaker Gardens opened to the public as a retail garden center in 1990. Although extensive collections of daylilies, iris and other perennials were in the mix, their hundreds of hosta varieties put them on the map. The “hosta ravine” showcased those

D espite the dismal odds facing any start-up business . . . Despite the prolonged illness and death of one of the founders . . . Despite COVID craziness and shifting markets and a location well off any beaten path . . . Hornbaker Gardens continues to grow. Not like a weed. Like the well-tended garden it is. Over nearly 50 years, Hornbaker Gardens has evolved from family homestead to pick-your-own berry

36 JUNE 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE