Support the Natives
Fill in your flowers for the summer! Claire’s Garden in Kirksville sells a vast array of native plants and wildflowers, trees, vegetables, and perennial flowers. Claire’s Garden shares the same retail location with Peckosh Landscaping. Claire Peckosh owns Claire’s Garden, while her son, Logan Peckosh, owns Peckosh Landscaping. She started her plant business in 2012, and when her son’s traditional and native landscaping business took off in 2014, they decided to partner. As the partnership bloomed, Claire decided to add native plants to her business in 2017. “It just seemed like the right move environmentally and aesthetically. We have such a growing problem with pollinators and also in our diversity of plant life,” Claire says. “I think it is important to add natives wherever we can.” Now, Claire sells many types of plants that are native to Missouri and are full of life and color in her growing garden. Visit Claire’s Garden and Peckosh Landscaping at 23198 Highway H, Kirksville.
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A Tough Nut Legacy
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In 1946, when Ralph Hammons owned and ran a grocery store in Stockton, he began noticing how many wild eastern black walnuts were growing all around the Ozarks and decided there might be an opportunity to process and sell them. He bought a cracking machine and started a new business, Hammons Black Walnuts. It’s a family-run affair, run by Ralph’s son, Dwain Hammons; Ralph’s grandson, Brian Hammons; Ralph’s granddaughter, Lori Basecke; and Ralph’s great-grandson, Jacob Basecke. “We’re thankful for a solid, reliable workforce and leadership over the years with strong Missouri values,” Brian says.
The company, based in Stockton, offers a unique business model that allows people to sell the black walnuts they gather, primarily sourced in Missouri, to the business. The family has taken eastern black walnuts, the official tree nut of Missouri, and transformed them, creating a thriving business. The company also sells other black walnut products, including ground nutshells, chocolate covered treats, cookies, and coffee cake. Customers can shop Hammons Black Walnuts on their website.
This story was originally published in the June 2025 edition of Missouri Life magazine.
