Todd and Lu Peverill own the Hillsdale Lily Garden, located southeast of Glenwood, Iowa, on land that has been in Lu’s family for nearly 80 years. The garden serves as a tribute to the area's history. Lu’s family settled in rural southwest Iowa in the late 1800s, constantly engaged in farming and working the land. Hillsdale became active in 1865 when the CB & Q railroad connected the area. The town experienced steady growth until it became a ghost town after the railroad was abandoned in 1907, moving to a different location. Today, only the rural school and the Methodist Church remain. The school building has been converted into a private residence, while the church continues to have an active and engaged congregation.

Hillsdale Lily Garden began in 2015 with the gift of 12 single-cultivar lily plants from Jim, a businessman and lily grower from upstate New York. Jim’s mother-in-law was a lifelong friend of Lu’s mother, Margaret. The women in Lu’s family have always tended to the land through farming, gardening, and creating beautiful flower beds. Lu has always been passionate about flowers and has cultivated personal flowerbeds filled with lilies. Encouraged by Jim, Lu and Todd decided to start a commercial garden, and Jim committed to helping them.

Todd and Lu have lived in Hillsdale since 1992, where they have raised two sons, numerous sheep, goats, chickens, cats, and dogs (and even a hamster or two). Todd graduated from Waterloo East High School in Iowa with an impressive track and cross-country career. He competed at the collegiate level at the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Nebraska Omaha. Lu graduated from Fremont-Mills High School in Tabor, Iowa, and attended the University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University.

Todd served as the boys' track coach at Glenwood High School from 1993 to 2019 and has coached cross country since 1998. Lu retired in 2024 from Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs, where she worked as a Success Counselor with at-risk youth. Since 2007, she has also been Todd’s assistant cross-country coach.

The Peverills are proud parents of two sons: Kelsey, a construction engineer living in the Denver area with his wife, Amanda, and Collin, a licensed journeyman union electrician residing in Glenwood with his sons. They have four grandchildren: Owen, Bailey, Henry, and Mason, who loves spending time with Grandpa Todd and Grandma Lu in the garden, helping out wherever they can.