Berry Picking in Summer Time

Dear Reader,

Between the fact that she moved an hour away and the pandemic I hadn’t seen my friend Susan in quite a while. She has a lot of knowledge about the ways of plants; and I enjoy talking about gardening, dogs, and family with her. She’s the type of friend you can send a photo of your new flower acquisition and she is actually interested or has a valuable comment. What’s a good way to catch up with a friend like this on a hot summer day? Go berry picking!

We drop too ripe, mushy ones to the ground. Bees buzz around. Juice stains our hands and the sun is warm on our backs. Popping juicy, sweet, just picked berries in my mouth makes me feel close to nature, like by-gone days. We went to the Bees, Berries, and Blooms Farm in Annandale, New Jersey. We picked pints of delicious raspberries and visited the flower stand. What a great place!

Photo: Terry Tunkel

The owner is very friendly and creates beautiful arrangements for special occasions. She will also sell you a bucket of gorgeous blooms for $10 - as long as you bring back the bucket! We enjoyed talking. She has a long experience in the business and says that a lot of changes have taken place with the economy and changing times; but she still has customers that stop by weekly to get their spouse flowers. 

This got me started thinking. Many people enjoy attending dinner parties and a bouquet of flowers or a potted plant is still a perfect choice as a gift of appreciation to your host or hostess. Perhaps because of their tie to Mother Earth, flowers have a long, long history of being a great gift for any occasion.

However, I have noted increasingly that many obituaries call for donations to charity in lieu of flowers. As food for thought, think about the many people - florists, wholesalers, truckers, and flower growers make their living from the creation of flower arrangements. Farm stands and flower stands are usually owned by only one family and provide us substantial savings, as well as the freshest products, every day throughout the summer. Please consider that supporting the growing industry is just as important as giving to charity. 

Storm Ida Update: Ida hit many of us hard. We were lucky to get just a bit of water in our basement. The Bees, Berries, and Blooms Farm reports their home is okay, but their berries, flowers, and fence were damaged and they lost a few hives. Their season was forced to end a bit earlier. I’m sure this was across the board for many farmers. Down the road from me I can see damage to corn crops. Seemingly increasing and stronger storms due to climate change further highlights the need to support our community of growers.