Frankly, I’ve never understood the romanticism associated with picking blackberries. They ripen when it’s hotter than the hinges of hell outside, their branches are covered with stickers to scratch your arm like you tussled with an army of tomcats, and they seem to always grow adjacent to poison ivy and chigger habitats. So … no!
Instead, give me blueberries, plump juicy delights that ripen in June instead of July and August (when you should be inside eating blueberries anyway). Picking through a cluster to select the perfect blueberries has a certain Zen delight, and sampling a few along the way is pretty much a moral imperative.
That’s why I was excited to learn about the Highland Realm Blueberry Bash on Saturday, June 18. Highland Realm is a beautiful 200-acre farm in Hampshire, Tenn., that grows thousands of blueberry bushes without any chemicals, relying on compost, teas and extracts to maintain the health of the soil and the plants.
Operated by Dr. Deanna Naddy, the former associate dean for nursing at Columbia State Community College, Highland Realm is committed to continuing Naddy’s career in health education after her retirement. They offer classes in garden mulching, thermal composting, essential oils, sacred conversations, sound therapy and more over the course of the year.
This weekend's Blueberry Bash will take place from 3 until 8 p.m. on Saturday. Your $5 admission per vehicle entitles you and yours to a day of blueberry picking, live music, a baking contest, food trucks, vendor booths, creek wading and a kids’ zone. Since this is a working farm, regrettably, animals are not allowed to attend the bash.
U-Pick blueberries are available, or you can buy them by the pint or by the gallon. Keep in mind that you won’t get nearly as many berries in a pint as you might at your local grocery store because these beauties are as big as a quarter! These might indeed be the berries that turned Violet violet.
You won’t have to worry about swelling up like that naughty girl did in Willy Wonka, because this will be a family-friendly good time. Set your GPS for 4443 Hampshire Pike in Hampshire, and enjoy a lovely slightly more than hourlong drive through the rural countryside. Or put on your Kevlar coveralls and pick blackberries. The choice is clear.
