July 10, 2025
Shaw Local
NewsSubscribePrep SportseNewspaperObituariesFriday Night DriveNewsletterStarved Rock CountryEvent CalendarGames and Puzzles

Hornbaker Gardens to host annual Open House and Hosta Walk from June 10-12

The weekend will have a Sip and Stroll, workshops and an arboretum walk

By Shaw Local News Network
Just around a bend stands the gravel entrance to Hornbaker Gardens. The lane, lined on one side by a white split-rail fence, leads past an open field to a wedding venue known as The Barn, retail space and thoughtfully planted display gardens as well as the brown two-story home of Rich Hornbaker. In 1978 when Rich and his late wife, Kathy, first looked at the property now known as Hornbaker Gardens, it was a 14-acre abandoned homestead with an old house, a barn and some sheep.

Hornbaker Gardens will host its annual Open House and Hosta Walk Weekend from Friday, June 10 through Sunday, June 12.

Hornbaker Gardens will host its annual Open House and Hosta Walk Weekend from Friday, June 10 through Sunday, June 12.

This annual 3-day event offers many items with special pricing including a long list of hostas. In addition to discounts, refreshments and door prizes, the weekend is full of workshops and events.

Hours will be extended to 7 p.m. on Friday, June 10 for a Sip and Stroll with food, beer and wine.

At 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 11 there will be a free Plant Anatomy informational workshop. At 1 p.m. Ella Maxwell, a Peoria-area horticulturist, will be on hand for the Hypertufa “Make & Take” workshop.

Hypertufa looks like stone after it cures and makes a rustic planter for plants that require good drainage, such as succulents. The cost of this workshop is $20 and reservations are required. Old clothes and shoes are suggested.

The weekend wraps up with a free Arboretum Walk at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 12. Participants are encouraged to join Hornbakers to see trees and other plants that have been growing on the 40-acre property for years.

Several varieties of Beech trees will be featured, along with many other unusual and standard plants including conifers.

For more information and to sign up for any of the workshops, visit hornbakergardens.com or call the office at 815-659-3282.