The Hunt Begins! (Or Day Tripper: Hornbakers!)
My absolute favorite-ist thing to do in the spring? Go garden hunting/nursery trolling/plant searching...I cannot cannot cannot get enough! This season started for me yesterday when my sweet soul sister Amanda and I took a VERY LONG (but well worth it) drive to Hornbaker Gardens in Princeton Illinois. 
Princeton has that rugged hilly Illinois scenery that Chicago just doesn't have. Princeton also has Hornbakers- and the absolute best and most abundant variety of hostas I have ever seen. (And let me tell you, these eyes have seen their share of hostas!) Hosta heaven...indeed!
The double row below, plus the one to the right (and another not seen to the left are ALL HOSTA!) Holy hostas batgirls! I'm telling you, I loaded up. 
I came home with such varieties as May, Spinach, and Golden Tiara. (I have an affinity-no not an obsession- with chartreuse colored hostas...well anything really, but today, hostas.) Hornbakers is so much more than hostas though, they have a huge supply of other shady ladies, sun dwellers, trees, shrubs, ceramics and some deliciously landscaped scenery. We were kids in the candy store. 
These amazing clumps of virginia bluebells inspired me to scoop up some armloads of my own....
Tranquil and lovely with a staff that is the stuff dreams are made of, I didn't even realize that we had spent 3 hours roaming lazily around picking and choosing what would be loaded into the truck, and what would just be captured on film. (I guess its really digital card, not film, but that doesn't sound quite as romantic, does it?)
Pulmonaria ( 3 different varieties) also made their way home with me. Pictured below, its the purple (of course) flowers.
Hellebores! Too too good. 
And a juicy red monstrous tulip. Like a big lipsticky kiss to send us off on our way back home....
Definitely worth the trek...it does a spirit good. (So does the truckload of plants I came home with....) More on Hornbakers, including hours and directions here. Can I say it was a day well spent?
Princeton has that rugged hilly Illinois scenery that Chicago just doesn't have. Princeton also has Hornbakers- and the absolute best and most abundant variety of hostas I have ever seen. (And let me tell you, these eyes have seen their share of hostas!) Hosta heaven...indeed!
The double row below, plus the one to the right (and another not seen to the left are ALL HOSTA!) Holy hostas batgirls! I'm telling you, I loaded up. 
I came home with such varieties as May, Spinach, and Golden Tiara. (I have an affinity-no not an obsession- with chartreuse colored hostas...well anything really, but today, hostas.) Hornbakers is so much more than hostas though, they have a huge supply of other shady ladies, sun dwellers, trees, shrubs, ceramics and some deliciously landscaped scenery. We were kids in the candy store. 
These amazing clumps of virginia bluebells inspired me to scoop up some armloads of my own....
Tranquil and lovely with a staff that is the stuff dreams are made of, I didn't even realize that we had spent 3 hours roaming lazily around picking and choosing what would be loaded into the truck, and what would just be captured on film. (I guess its really digital card, not film, but that doesn't sound quite as romantic, does it?)
Pulmonaria ( 3 different varieties) also made their way home with me. Pictured below, its the purple (of course) flowers.
Hellebores! Too too good. 
And a juicy red monstrous tulip. Like a big lipsticky kiss to send us off on our way back home....
Definitely worth the trek...it does a spirit good. (So does the truckload of plants I came home with....) More on Hornbakers, including hours and directions here. Can I say it was a day well spent?
Hellebores!
ReplyDeleteHostas!
Stop it!!!!!!
I wanna move back to the Midwest SO BADLY!!!! You are not helping by going to garden centers and having babies that I can't just pop in to see!
In good news, the best garden center in AZ (BAKERS) is only a block, yes, one block, away from our new house. Maybe THEY can finally make me love (or at least understand) living in the desert.
Love you!
k