After graduation, Clardy returned to Kentucky and commenced practice in Long View, Kentucky. After three years, he relocated to Blandville, Kentucky, where he remained until the beginning of the Civil War. During the war, he spent most of his time in New York City as a member of the firm of Bacon, Clardy, and Company. He returned to Christian County in 1866, practicing medicine irregularly and engaging in agricultural pursuits. He purchased several tracts of land in Christian County and built his estate named "Oakland" into a five hundred fifty acre farm.