I write a lot about strawberries on my blog, because we grow them in a patch on the side of our house. In fact, this is the area where the owners before us had their “mini garden.”
When we put in raised beds, we turned this area into our strawberry patch. It gets plenty of sunshine, and right now those plants are flowering beautifully.
Today, however, I’m writing about the “giant” strawberry, a box of which arrived at my door this week from Harry and David.
The strawberry …
Its color defines red; its flavor exemplifies sweetness. Its example teaches us that although perfection is hard to reach, with the strawberry, its within our grasp.
Here’s a little bit of trivia about the modern-day strawberry:
The modern-day strawberry is the result of a cross between a tiny, yet highly flavorful woodland berry found in Virginia in the 1700s, and a huge, juicy variety native to the foothills of the Chilean Andes. The two were brought together by French botanist A.N. Duchesne in 1766. But the French Revolution proved such a disruption that the first “modern” strawberry, one that we’d recognize today, did not become well-known until the early 1800s, when English gardener Michael Keens completed task.
My beautiful friends and I decided to do go on a little outing to a nearby park, along with our daughters. Since I had just opened up the box of giant strawberries from Harry and David, I put together a beautiful bowl of berries and nuts to take with us.
Berries and nuts and cheese make the perfect appetizer, but in our case, I left the cheese behind.
The hands dipped into the bowl and the giant berries were soon no more.
I love this time of year, when we are so blessed with amazing fruit and veggies!
A few tips for ripening and storing your fresh-picked strawberries:
1. It’s okay to not wash them right away.
2. You’ll want to refrigerate them.
3. Cover with plastic wrap; pierce for ventilation.
They’ll usually last for 2-3 days, and of course you always want to wash them before eating …
Are you as ready as I am for a glorious strawberry season?
(Harry and David provided me with their Fruit of the Month but they did not pay me to write this post today.)
Congratulations to Natalie, from Scribbles n’ Things, who won the SDG Artistry giveaway. And if you missed yesterday’s post, there’s an exciting Home Goods giveaway coming your way, too … stay tuned and check out this post.
Hi, I'm Sandy. Five years ago I stocked up on beautiful glasses from the Dollar Store. As I started writing about dinner parties, I realized that this “icon” portrays a great message. It says that dinner parties are attainable, they are affordable, and that they can be beautiful even when on a budget. 
We plan on adding a strawberry patch to our garden. We have two plants that survived the move that have producing strawberries one by one but I can’t wait to have a whole bunch of them growing all at once. YUM!
Have a great day!
Kim @ Homesteader’s Heart´s last [type] ..101 Easy Everyday Recipes GIVEAWAY!!
Strawberry season…I can’t wait! Here is Wisconsin we won’t have strawberries until the end of June. I can’t imagine having my own patch outside of my door. A little bit of heaven.
Upscale Downhome´s last [type] ..Art Deco Design
I’ve had various boxes from Harry and David’s in the past and they are consistantly wonderful so I can imagine how good the strawberries are.
We don’t grow strawberries but the produce markets are full of them right now and a fairly decent price. This year they seem particularly good too, I plan on eating as many as I can while the locally grown crop is on offer.
The impromptu picnic snack looks delicious.
Darla
Darla´s last [type] ..Sketchbook 2011 – 5-19-11
I just received that Harry & David box of HUGE strawberries last week! OMG were they GOOD!!…they did NOT last long in our house!
Great post Sandy!!
TidyMom´s last [type] ..Free Backyard Barbeque Recipes ebook
LOOK at your strawberry patch !!! And those gorgeous H & D strawberries! I’ve never ordered from them, but Cheryl has said such wonderful things about their fruit. I might have to give them a try!
LOVE your pictures, too! I want to live in your neighborhood!!!
Your strawberry bed looks fabu! Love the last pic of the girls. What fun!
Elen´s last [type] ..The inconvenience of it all…
Oh I love strawberries! My Aunt has a strawberry farm that we go to every year. It is amazing! I am hoping to plant strawberries at our new home.
Traci´s last [type] ..Slipcover Video Tutorial- Part One
Thanks for the strawberry lesson, and for the great idea to pack a basket full of berries, call a few friends and sit a spell.
Yummy! I want to grow strawberries eventually, right now I’m working on blueberries and raspberries.
Kirstin´s last [type] ..Simple- Yummy- Nutritious Dinner
I want a strawberry patch like yours. All I have is two little containers that produce about 10 strawberries every year. I planted a raspberry patch last year, but I won’t get a lot of raspberries until next year. All in due time . . . all in due time.
charlotte´s last [type] ..Peanut Butter Cookies
Nothing better than fresh strawberries! Hope you have a bumper crop!
xo Cathy
stitchfork´s last [type] ..grab your shades