The Emotional Gardener

Anticipation.  Disappointment.  Excitement.  Patience.  All of these emotions, plus a few more, characterize my experience in the garden.  I have several flower gardens surrounding my house along with a vegetable garden and "berry patch". It's the berry patch that has me feeling DISAPPOINTED.  This year, four years into having planted strawberries, the plants have multiplied enough that there is finally a decent amount of plants to supply at least a pint or more of strawberries. In any case, enough for any pie, cobbler or crisp recipe of my choice.  Earlier in May, the flowers, like the one pictured below, crowded each plant with at least six to seven cheery faces.  With ANTICIPATION I imagined the plants later weighed down by the heavier fruit and my mind wandered; thinking about which recipe of mine would be made better by homegrown strawberries.    

After a month or so of PATIENCE; waiting for the weather conditions to provide for beautifully red, ripened fruit, I now find that I am not the only one who has been awaiting the taste of these berries.  With the first strawberry that I saw so close to being pick-worthy, I decided to give it another day.  Apparently, in my haste...something else decided to make quick waste of that first berry. Unfortunately, that has been the pattern we have followed for the last week or so. As the berries ripen, and I give them just one more day; something else: bunny, squirrel or mouse? takes advantage of my hesitation.  Not wanting to pick only partially ripened fruit has kept me from claiming what is rightfully mine, while the less choosy mammal is rewarded on a nightly basis.

Berry by berry, the pie in my mind, gets smaller and smaller.  The EXCITEMENT that once guided my visions of home-baked goodness has waned.  At this point, I feel I can only plan ahead for next year.  The word STRATEGY comes to mind.  I will need it as I wage a berry-sized war against the little varmints that choose to squash my strawberry dreams.  

In the meantime, I will look to the farmer's markets and Sweet Berry Farm, to supply me with locally grown strawberries. And as for MY berry patch....the raspberry bushes look promising!

Where will the day bring you?

It all started with a June trip to Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, RI where rain or shine we were determined to pick some strawberries.  While paying for our 6 lbs. of  fruit, I spotted a pamphlet off to the left of the register.  Once unfolded, this little gem reveals a scavenger hunt with a map and picture clues for 28 participating RI farms.  Now it is quite possible to win something if you obtain a sticker from at least 18 of these farms by December, 2013.  But, we're really not in it to win any kind of material prize.  The adventure is what we are interested in and our most recent one proved to be a worthy start to our hunt.  

I will say this, though, before heading out on a trek, don't just scan the hours of operation.  When it says "Open 7 days a week", don't stop there.  The very next line may explain that they close everyday at noon. And getting there an hour after will not get the sticker.  Fortunately, we had other destinations planned for along the way.  After finding that our hopes of picking blueberries that day were squashed, we fueled up for where our travels would take us next, by stopping at Rita's Italian Ice.  If you've had Rita's you would understand our excitement that this worked into our travels.  If you haven't had Rita's...I'm sorry.

Once we were settled back in the car we decided, since we were already on Route 1, that Charlestown, RI was the place to be with it's Fantastic Umbrella Factory.  It doesn't sound like much of a farm, but if you check out the website, it seems to be quite the interesting place.   In any case, we were headed for the factory with other farms, according to the map, along the way.  As luck would have it, though, we lost some time to roadwork and traffic.  With that, we decided to navigate towards a farm closest to Rte 138. That way, we would head back to the south coast of MA by way of Newport.  

The Farmer's Daughter is where we parked to explore.  Although I wouldn't deem this destination a farm, I will say that this garden center did not disappoint.  First, they had greenhouse devoted to butterflies and for an extra fee, you could enter to see Monarchs and Painted Ladies at play.  Secondly, a small shed devoted to creating fairy gardens and tiny worlds for terrariums presented the possibilities for miniature magic. Finally, I cannot go without acknowledging this mysterious young lady that made her presence known despite the fact that she is made of cement.

Always a fan of myth and fantasy, this mermaid statue worked her way into my imagination......

 ....bewitching me with her stare.

Bidding farewell to my mermaid friend, and carrying a bag of items to start our own miniature world, we hopped back into the car to head home.  As I mentioned before, we chose to take a different route home. The decision to head back by way of Newport proved to be fruitful as the steering wheel impulsively decided to bear right off the Claiborne Pell Bridge to head downtown.  The stars were in alignment that day...we enjoyed Rita's italian ice and custard AND another favorite of ours: Cupcake Charlies!  It was just that kind of day.

A Berry Good Place to Visit

Sometimes I wonder where I've been that I don't know about places that are well within a 30-40 mile radius of where I live. Take Sweet Berry Farm, for instance, it is a 100 acre farm in Middletown, RI at which you are able to pick-your-own strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples, and pumpkins as they are in season. And don't worry, once the pumpkins are gone, there is still reason to return in November and December for Christmas trees. But, what puts this pick-your-own farm stand a peck above every other is the inclusion of a bakery and cafe which makes it nice when every one is all picked out.


Sweet Berry Farm also displays and sells artwork by local artists and they have a variety of fun diversions, such as the above photo opportunity, beautifully painted I must say. A fun house mirror, that had my boys in stitches, stands outside the entrance. Ice cream in flavors like: cardamom coffee, salted caramel swirl and meyer lemon are also on hand, along with a soft serve machine for those in your party who like to keep it simple with a vanilla chocolate twist.

So, with the sun shining and the berries layed out before us, my boys and I set out to pick ourselves some fruit. My oldest was more focused and determined at finding the best berries, while my youngest, well, he was more interested in running the rows and seeing how well he could jump over them without squishing any berries with his heel.

Of course, there is always that one last berry that you see after you are supposed to be leaving...luscious and ripe, like this one. I took it's picture; immortalizing it for life. After which time, I picked it and ate it!