Hortulus Farm Garden and Nursery

Hortulus Farm Garden and Nursery, a 100-acre, 18th-century farmstead in Wrightstown, PA, was created and is owned by garden and event designer Renny Reynolds and the late garden writer Jack Staub. Hortulus has been called "a garden of world-class charm" and "one of Pennsylvania's secret treasures." Designed and restored as a public space in historic Bucks County, the property boasts 24 distinct formal gardens connected by a network of trails running through a wide range of unusual and native perennial plants. The farm’s specialty nursery offers rare and unusual plants in every category and is a destination for serious gardeners from across the nation. In 2008, the Hortulus Farm Foundation was founded to enable the property to continue as a public garden and horticultural study center in perpetuity.

Hortulus Farm: Where History & Horticulture Meet from Sugar Shock Media on Vimeo.

TIMELINE

2020
John (Jack) Staub passes away on January 22. Read the obituary.

2014
Hortulus Farm is designated an affiliate garden in the Garden Conservancy's preservation program, an extension of an already strong working relationship between the two organizations for more than ten years.

2008
The Hortulus Farm Foundation is founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

2005
The Hortulus Farm Museum is founded as a public showplace for the owners' collection of Bucks County Impressionist paintings, as well as other notable artifacts and collections.

2004
The Isaiah Warner Farmstead is added to the U.S. Register of Historic Places.

2000
The Garden Conservancy's Open Days program welcomes Hortulus Farm into our nationwide program of sharing outstanding private gardens with the public.

1980
Renny Reynolds and Jack Staub buy the property which, over time, has been reduced to only 15 acres. They begin to resuscitate the farm, initiate the gardens, and acquire 100 of the original 300 acres.

1918
The Great Depression tears through the solvency of the district, including the fortunes of Warnerland. The last of the family to inhabit the property is forced to sell it.

1860
Two immense dairy barns are added to the property. At the back of the house, across little Fire Creek, a small holding pond is built, as well as a stone icehouse. The Warners marry into the local Thompson clan and the property is farmed by the family into the 20th century.

1793
The house is completed in three sections, over 70 years. During this time, the 300-acre homestead becomes known as “Warnerland.”

1723
Construction of the classic Bucks County stone home begins.

1690
The original deed to the land is granted by William Penn to Isaiah Warner, one of Wrightstown’s earliest settlers.

 For more information, visit hortulusfarm.com.