Hostas on the Bluff plants new roots at former Fairview Heights school
A long-vacant Fairview Heights school building is getting a makeover as part of the expansion of Hostas on the Bluff.
The business, owned by Brian and Erica Kniffin, is using the former Bluff View Elementary School grounds as the new site of its sales area.
Renovations are in progress, and the goal, Brian Kniffin said, is to eventually open the building to the community for its enjoyment.
Plans include keeping as many of the building’s original elements as possible. The front half of the building is original, dating back to 1935, according to property tax records.
New windows were installed, the brick tuckpointed, and some issues with the walls repaired. Kniffin said the inside was cleaned out and plumbing, electrical and HVAC are next on the list. Original exposed brick and concrete will be features of the building’s interior.
Kniffin hopes the building’s renovation will be completed within the next year. After that he said they’d like to move in and maybe have a garden shop or coffee shop for customers.
Other projects are in progress for the back of the school, he said, adding that detailed updates will be announced later.
Around the old school and beyond
Kniffin acquired the former school from East St. Louis School District 189 in May 2010 after noticing some “shady business” taking place in the vacant building, according to manager McKenzie Black.
Black said, at the time, the Kniffins had two small children at home and Brian saw buying the old school as a way to help make the neighborhood safer for his family and other residents. He had no other plans for the building.
Black, who oversees day-to-day operations, said by the end of 2023 they knew another greenhouse was needed. She said Kniffin acquired one in Peoria but didn’t have a plan for it at the time.
This winter the decision was made to move the sales area, and Kniffin had just the place.
The property’s lot has an 8,125-square-foot greenhouse and multiple outdoor display tables filled with plants available for purchase. The new greenhouse is about six times larger than the former sales area.
The lot is flat with more room to spread out, said Black, who pointed out an indoor display garden consisting of potted plants.
The “garden” is a work in progress, and the ease of maintaining it is in swapping out individual plants and rearranging them as needed.
In spring 2024, Kniffin acquired three other properties around the school.
Last year, he asked the city to rezone these properties, as well as neighboring grounds owned by the city, from single-family residential to conservation.
His request was granted by the City Council in October. The conservation zoning designation allows the operation of an agricultural business and maintenance of a natural landscape.
As the school’s renovation and setup of the new sales area continue, one parcel across the street is already established as the new grazing (and lazing) grounds for the business’ goats, which were previously in an area at the home garden.
The three goats, Nugget, Louie, and June, are diligently monitored by the Kniffins’ border collie, Sophie.
The rest of that parcel and the one adjacent to it are grassy areas that currently have spring flowers such as daffodils and violets throughout. The area is quiet and offers another view of St. Louis’ skyline in the distance.
A house currently stands in the remaining lot. Black said that there are no active plans for that area at this time.
When Kniffin applied to the city for a conservation rezoning of the area, the possibility of including a wine garden was included in the application.
When asked about this, he said it was “always on the list” but is more of a “pie-in-the-sky” list item.
It’s possible to use the area to host wine tastings, but “I don’t think there’s a goal to do that [open a wine garden] on its own,” he said. It would be more of a complementary feature of the gardens.
Kniffin said the city’s been “very supportive of the effort” they’re making and is always open to working with us.
Over 800 hosta varieties, other plants cultivated on site
Black said the display garden at 1601 Pleasantview Drive will remain and continue to be open to customers to show what plants are available.
The display garden features numerous varieties of hostas — each with a sign that includes its name, the name of the person who discovered it, the year it was registered, and its mature size — as well as companion plants, suitable for shady areas or sunny spots.
Hostas on the Bluff has 800 varieties of hostas throughout the garden and production greenhouse with more than 300 currently available for sale.
The production greenhouse is south of the main house and contains about 20,000 plants.
“Most of the hostas [that we sell] are about a year old,” said Black. “We grow them all on site.”
She said some are sown in pots, others in the ground. They’re all monitored and cared for, and every plant is tested.
The advantage of starting plants in pots is that there’s less chance of disease and other issues. Those that start in the ground are more susceptible, said Black. They can be removed and placed in pots as needed.
Hostas are not native to the area, she said, but they’re not invasive. They do well in the Midwestern climate and can help control ground erosion.
Black said they are constantly working to develop new hosta varieties and keeping an eye out for new sports, natural mutations that can occur in plants that show new traits such as color, leaf shape and structure. Current offerings are the Emma Rose and Sweet as Honey.
They have their eye on about 20 to 30 other plants, she said. They may see four or five new sports, and it can take a few years to see what they’ll look like as mature plants.
In addition to Black, the staff at Hostas on the Bluff includes about 10 part-time employees including college students and a few retirees.
The business is looking for volunteers to help with maintenance, weeding, planting, and interacting with customers. Volunteer perks include plenty of fresh air and, occasionally, free hostas.
Between the greenhouse and the display garden area is a large grassy field that was leveled and is available for outdoor events.
On the north side of the field is a sloped area with hostas that Black said grow well there. The south side features a rock path, trees, hostas and other plants and a bench for outdoor enjoyment.
For Kniffin, the big picture is that he “always wanted a place to visit” in the area, citing destinations like the Missouri Botanical Garden and St. Louis Zoo.
People will travel three of four hours to visit places like those in Missouri, he said, but that can get old.
The goal was “to create a place where people would come three hours to us,” Kniffin said. “We don’t have anything else like this here.”
About Hostas on the Bluff
Hostas on the Bluff, located at 1601 Pleasantview Drive in Fairview Heights, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
The business was established in 2016 when Brian and Erica Kniffin started planning to build a business that started as a home garden project. The garden opened for business the following year.
The official opening day for the display garden is Wednesday, April 15. The sales area is open now. Business hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Sunday.
Customers are welcome to view the main display garden and learn about the plants. The new sales area is within a half-mile of the display garden.
For more information, call 618-680-0288 or email info@hostasonthebluff.com. For upcoming events and other updates, visit hostasonthebluff.com or follow the business on Facebook.
This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
