A Hartsburg Flower Farm Blooms in Boone County

Hartsburg, a river-bottom community in Boone County, has a new flower farm worth the drive down a gravel road to find sunflowers and daffodils for sale. The Petal Patch, run by Christine and Jake Roesch, opened to the public in June after months of prep work on what used to be ordinary yard.

How did a Discovery show become a flower farm?

Christine Roesch traces the idea back to a Discovery Channel show about growing cut flowers; she picked up a book from the show’s creator and worked out the rest herself. “We’ve always been into landscaping, and flowers and beautiful things,” she told the Boone County Journal. Getting the ground ready was its own project. “We spent the fall using the neighbors’ tractor and the trailer and bringing up manure to this area,” she said.

The whole family pitched in — Christine and Jake’s four kids, Nick, Mitch, Georgia and Theo, range from 6 to 14. Christine said the best part isn’t the growing, it’s who the flowers go to. “I love just people that call for bouquets or it’s my granddaughter’s or my friend’s 80th birthday,” she said.

What’s it like to visit?

The farm is closed for the season now — the last pick-your-own pop-up ran Sept. 20 — so this isn’t a stop to make this week. There’s no posted price list or set hours; the Roesches announce pop-ups on Facebook and Instagram at @Hartsburg.petal.patch, the best way to know when the gate’s open again. The farm sits at 6575 E Zumwalt Road, at the end of a gravel road, the kind of spot you find by following the sign, not a GPS pin.

What’s growing next?

Christine is already starting seeds in her laundry room for next year, and the Roesches are planning low tunnels — simple hoop-covered beds — to help flowers survive winter and get an earlier start in spring. It’s the kind of incremental growth that marks a first full season: “We have learned a lot this year,” Christine said. For anyone who knows the river from Franklin Island down to Cooper’s Landing or who’s ridden the Katy Trail between Rocheport and Boonville, Hartsburg is a short detour worth remembering for next spring.

It’s a small operation, no sign out on the highway, but it’s the kind of thing that makes Hartsburg feel like Hartsburg: somebody’s side yard turned into something neighbors drive out for.