What better way to spend a gorgeous summer day than picking delicious berries in the Yarra Valley?
This past weekend was the epitome of perfect summer weather, and we decided to get out there and make the most of it with a little berry picking.
Cindy and I are both fruit lovers, and nothing says ‘summer’ like fresh off the vine strawberries and blackberries. So off we went to Blue Hills Berries and Cherries in Silvan. I used to come here when I was a kid and it was so much fun doing it again!
The entry fee was $13 for a 500gm tray, which is quite a lot more than the $5 it used to be when I was a kid, but it was worth it. We were told that today they had strawberries and blackberries available and were given directions to the best spots to find our treasure.
I’m not ashamed to admit that we probably ate more than we took home (it’s allowed so don’t judge), and to be honest I was feeling a little sick that night from so many strawberries. But they were SO GOOD! The strawberries were quite possibly the juiciest and sweetest I’d ever eaten. Cindy certainly was a fan, announcing that she’d already eaten about 50 berries before I’d even had my first!
We started with the strawberries, but then it was on to the blackberries. These vines are in covered areas to help keep the birds away and the shade cloth was a welcome break from the hot sun. At first there seemed to be only unripened berries but just a few metres in we hit pay dirt.
The lady at the front desk had told us we could pick as much as we wanted so long as we could close the lid on our containers, so we did our best to fill in the gaps with as many blackberries as we could. By the end, we had more than enough to keep us going (Cindy’s lid could close but I had to use a hair tie to close mine as it was just a bit too full).
All in all it was a wonderful, simple and cheap way to spend an afternoon. We will definitely be going back again next year. Now we just have to work out what we’re going to do with all the berries that we picked. I wonder if Cindy knows how to make jam…
Until next time,
Nat x