HDYGG Series: Flowers in Clay
We are so happy to share our next garden tour with you today: Christine & Patrick O’Brien of Flowers in Clay. Flowers in Clay is a flower farm in Pike County, Missouri, and such an inspiration for Missouri-grown cut flowers. Not only are Christine and Patrick growers, they work closely with Bowood Farms in St. Louis and even teach classes to fellow flower enthusiasts. Patrick is a ceramicist and creates the loveliest vessels for all these beautiful blooms, such as the compote pictured below. Such a dream!
We interviewed Christine in early June, and it’s so wonderful looking back on these photos now that we are in the heat of summer. If you do not already follow Flowers in Clay, we encourage you to do so—their dahlias are simply stunning and are already beginning to bloom!
I'd first like to ask you, what are you most excited about that is blooming in your garden right now?
Most exciting blooms right now have to be all the poppies. The Bread Seed poppies were pretty spectacular a few days ago, now they are leaving behind the most beautiful seed pods for us to dry (and later eat) for dried arrangements and wreaths. The Shirleys are so dainty, and I love all the different colors. My favorite poppy this year was the Icleandic 'Champagne Bubbles'. Not just because of the gorgeous blooms and vase life, but also for the fact that we finally (after 3 years) cracked the code on how to grow them from seed!
That is so exciting! We love icelandic poppies. When did you begin gardening on your current land and how has it evolved since you started?
We've been gardening for a long time, 20+ years. The cut flower production started in 2016 and it has evolved into something we are very proud of, but also requires a ton of work. We are passionate about it and that's what makes it all worth it in the end.
You have accomplished so much since 2016. It sounds like a love of gardening has been present throughout your whole life!
Definitely present throughout my whole life (and Patrick's as well). Plants are a very important part of our lives, and we also want to foster that in our children.
What has worked out well for you with your garden? Have you had any happy surprises with your plantings?
Dahlias and David Austin roses have worked great in our cut flower garden along with so many more flowers. But, we are most proud of the Dahlias and David Austin roses. Happy surprise this year was definitely the Icleandic poppies. The other flower/vine I can't wait to see bloom are the Cathedral Bells (Cobaea scandens)~another one we've tried over and over again to get going from seed and finally this year we must have cracked the code and they are looking beautiful, climbing up our brick wall and I'm patiently waiting to see buds and eventually flowers :-)
Do you have a current garden project you are working on?
Not really. We are always trying to improve the areas that are most weedy. The landscape fabric has helped us so much with weed control.
Weeding certainly is an ongoing project I’m familiar with! Has gardening taught you anything that you apply to other areas of your life?
Absolutely! Patience for one, to never give up trying growing plants that are maybe challenging to get going. I'm a very impatient person and gardening has taught me a lesson or two. And, also to appreciate the little things. To see plants and seeds grow is really something very satisfying and rewarding. In my advanced age, it still gives me so much pleasure seeing things grow that I have started from seed. And, gardening has also taught me that without hard work there isn't much reward, which really applies to so many things in life.
I have to ask—Do you have a favorite flower? I know when you see and grow so many plants, it is sometimes difficult to choose just one!
That is a very unfair question :-) But, I always answer this question this way: David Austin roses. They are tops in my books. I love their form, fragrance, color, elegance and their "indepence". They can stand alone (like Dahlias, but they lack the fragrance). There are so many flowers I love, however the DA Roses represent everything a flower should be~in my opinion. And, the biggest reason we've been so successful is 100% due to Patrick's knowledge of how to take care of them. He is in the rose bed every single day, he makes it very easy to love them so much :-)
Thank you again Christine and Patrick, for taking the time out of your busy growing season to share your garden with us! We cannot wait to share our own dahlias when they bloom in the coming months, grown from tubers we ordered from Flowers in Clay last fall!
All photos provided and taken by Christine and Patrick O’Brien.