 | The Fassnight story
Dan Bigbee, shown here selling at the Farmer's Market, has owned and worked Fassnight Creek Farm for more than 20 years. He and wife Kelly grow ornamental plants and an enormous variety of fresh vegetables and fruits. Dan says the farm has been producing commercially for 70 years.
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 | A huge bounty
A partial list of the Fassnight produce: sweet peppers of all colors; hot peppers; cabbage; broccoli; eggplant; beets; kale; mustard and collard greens; snap beans; arugula; leeks; green onions; bulb onions (e.g., 'White Vidalia', 'Texas Supersweet', 'Candy', and 'Superstar'); pickler, slicer, and burpless cucumbers; herbs; and tomatoes. Later in the season it's watermelon; winter squash; and white, blue, and tan pumpkins.
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 | A Familiar Face
In addition to working fulltime with the farm and the Farmer's Market, Dan also gives gardening advice on local television (KY3 in Springfield at noon on Wednesdays). "I think I'm kind of a draft horse," he says. "I think I was just made to get into harness and get on with the show."
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 | A field of larkspur
Greeting farm visitors in June is this field of larkspurs destined for fresh and dried bouquets. The Bigbees' ornamental plants and flowers include hostas, daylilies, ferns, bachelor's buttons, peonies, hibiscus, hollyhocks, lilies, and sunflowers. "This year we're experimenting with some new sunflowers," said Dan. "Red, multicolored, and yellow with a green disk." |
 | The experiment works
The Bigbees brought the green-disk sunflowers to market July 3rd, and they were a hit. That's Kelly in the background. |
 | At the farm
Inside the sales building at the farm, this quiet scene. |
 | Annabel
Annabel helps out at the farm. She has one brown eye and one blue eye, and is a sweetheart.
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 | Colorful Canna
Another resident of the farm is this vibrant orange-and-yellow canna lily, species name Canna x generalis, varietal name 'Rosemond Coles' (sometimes 'Rosamond Coles' or 'Rosemond Cole'). If you're lucky enough to locate one for yourself, give it full sun and get out of the way. Said to grow to 4 feet tall, these specimens reach at least 8 feet in the Ozarks. |
 | Lord Baltimore Hibiscus
The phrase "accent plant" is an understatement for Lord Baltimore Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos 'Lord Baltimore'), which also grows at the farm. Brilliant red flowers, deep green foliage, and a height that can reach 8 feet make it nothing short of spectacular. With full sun and plenty of water, it'll bloom beautifully from summer to frost. |
 | The Old Pump
An old pump and a homemade sign invite visitors to choose among just-picked vegetables at the farm.
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 | Sunny Bouquets
Early August may be the most colorful time for Kelly and Dan's multicolored bouquets at the Farmer's Market. |
 | Drying flowers
The Bigbees grow flowers at the farm and also on two other lots at other locations. Kelly dries a good many at the farm to go into baskets, wreaths, and bouquets of her own design. |
 | Festive Baskets
The dried flowers find better-than-good use in festive baskets and floral arrangements. |
 | Colorful Wreaths
Kelly's decorative wreaths, simple or elaborate, are always colorful and interesting.
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 | Seasonal themes
Fassnight Creek Farm wreaths often reflect seasonal themes, as with this fall creation.
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 | Winter Fun
Colorful dried plant arrangements and decorative baskets are a great way to carry a bit of garden cheer into winter. We loved the skates in this one.
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 | Vivid Color for the Home
Some of Kelly's wreaths are simply spectacular.
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 | Ashton
Ashton Anderson, whose mother Shirley manages the greenhouse at Wickman's Garden Village in Springfield, Missouri, pitches in to help the Bigbees at the Farmer's Market.
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 | Potpourris
Kelly also creates some unique dried potpourris, as notable for their fresher scents as their colorful ingredients. "A lot of potpourri oils are cut with dipropylene glycol," she says. "We don't use it and that means more fragrance and the fragrance lasts longer." The practice of using potpourris to freshen rooms with herbs, spices, and oils is at least 6,000 years old.
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 | Nancy's Picks
Nancy Kays of Springfield, Missouri, seems extra-pleased with her Fassnight Creek Farm sunflowers and bouquets. She says she loves the Farmer's Market and goes whenever she can.
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 | Dried Millet
Ornamental Millet (Pennisetum glaucum), with its deep purple leaves and striking seedheads, is a spectacular focal point in dried arrangements. The variety 'Purple Majesty' in 2003 won the All-America Selections Gold Medal Flower award. Soaring in popularity, it's grown by many gardeners nationwide and does beautifully in the Ozarks, growing to 5 feet or taller.
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 | Little Baskets
Precious things come in small packages, and Kelly's smaller arrangements are no exception.
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 | Pepper Decor
To spice up the kitchen, bundles of glossy dried red peppers.
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 | Sammy Goes to Market
Samantha (Sammy) Grace Bigbee, age 3 months, has her place at the market, too.
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 | Beauty by the Load
You can make up your own name for this picture. We just happened upon the scene at Fassnight Creek Farm and no one was around to explain it at the time, and we thought it would be more fun to not ask.
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