Blackberry Abundance
- Sarah-Jane Cobley
- Sep 9, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 10, 2023
It’s the end of the summer and I’ve awoken to a sunrise that’s gentler on my body clock. I step outside to a quiet stillness, one that’s cool and fresh, even the birds and bees have slowed their pace.
The summers fullness in all its big blooms and busy-ness is giving way to the abundance of the harvest. Blackberry season is upon us!
Stillness
I’m drawn out into the beaty of the cool stillness of an early September morning. I take empty humous pots in my bag. I walk with gentle eager purpose, cross a bridge into the countryside, wind my way along a narrow, overgrown path and immerge to face a hedgerow abundant with blackberries! Red and black jewels, a most prominent sight in the early morning misty sunrise.
As I stand ready to pick, I can hear a single robin singing sweetly as if to celebrate natures gifts. I pluck one, big, black and juicy and wonder which particular flavour will grace my tastebuds. It always amazes me at the range of flavours, which I liken to eating a Burtie Bots Every Flavour Bean, (Harry Potter sweets!).
There is a continuum of sour to sweet, but how to describe the flavour? Especially the odd ones, and it seems to me it’s quite personal which ones each person loves best. I can’t help hoping for the sour ones!
What I am receiving is a gentle rich stillness that only nature gives. Free from the clutter of modern living and engaged in a humble act of harvesting food for my family. Repetitive focused, meditative. I am uplifted by its beauty and its simplicity.
Connection
Blackberrying has a rich cultural heritage many of us remember enjoying as a child, perhaps with grandparents. Christopher Hedley, a herbal mentor of mine, told me that because it is one of the very few activities that remains which our ancestors recognise, he imagines that when out picking they like to join him in this peaceful endeavour.
This morning I pick quietly alongside my ancestors, who I know will be planning to transform the harvest into an apple and blackberry crumble with custard! I feel connected to my heritage and to the land. It’s so simple, anyone of any generation can enjoy.
This is an annual ritual I’ve enjoyed from childhood and have memories of my young children sat on their dad’s shoulders to reach high, with berries squished in each hand and smeared all around their mouths grinning from ear to ear!
This seasonal ritual was also promoted in our house by a book called ‘Blackberry Mouse’ which ends with a great feast in the garden. A table covered with delicious delights such as crumble, pie, tarts, juice, jelly and jam. My children wanted to recreate this and began by squishing berries with a potato masher to get a shot of juice each! These days they make a banana and blackberry smoothy or eagerly tuck into their dad’s pie or crumble which are to die for. My husband has been making jam for 20 years now. WOW!
I’m amazed at how the humble blackberry sparks so much connection. Connection to self, to ancestry, to our families, to nature, to our food and to a real sense of celebration and abundance!
Healthy Boost
Blackberrying massively impacts our mental and emotional wellbeing, from the sweet practice itself, to the creative process that follows, the celebration and connection it encourages, right through to the physical restoration from them being a great source of nutrition as well.
They contain the anthocyanin red-purple pigment which is highly antioxidant, so they combine de-stressing through simplicity and ritual with mopping up those destructive free radicals caused by stress. This means they keep us looking younger and healthier as well as feeling it as well, with more of a skip in our step!
Bramble is part of the rose family, and their leaves are astringent, useful as a tea to treat diarrhoea and mouth issues. A traditional remedy for scurvy given that they contain high levels of vitamin C, even more than in the fruit which still has as much as 30mg/100g.
The high seed and fibre content draws out gut toxins and parasites, increases gut transit time and operates as a laxative, so beware of eating too many if you’re more on the loose bowel side!
They give the immune system a boost as well as the gut as they’re antiseptic, antimicrobial and encourage wound healing. Great for sore throats and gum disease. I make a cough and cold tonic by combining them with elderberries, thyme and liquorice enjoyed by all the family.
Celebration!
Blackberries have the power to bring us closer to nature, to ourselves and to our loved ones. It is a restorative practice that boosts our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing, connecting us to a sense of abundance and celebration!
This year is seeing a bumper crop after so much rain and sun. It’s time to get the tubs out and venture out to the hedgerows! Happy Blackberrying!
Here is me recently on our BBC local news:
And in the Guardian:
Me in my garden. Look at the size of that blackberry!
Comments