Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Cherry Point Farm and Market

Cherry Point Farm and Market is located in Shelby, MI. It’s one of the oldest operating farms (since the 1860s) in Oceana County. The farm has more than 600 acres of over 200 varieties of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs. The Bull family has been operating it since 1949.

I learned about it after reading an article about their annual lavender festival in late July. The festivities included classes, live music, crafts, and sale booths. They have a market building where they sell t-shirts, souvenirs, baked goods, donuts, and fresh produce. There are fish boils every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday night in July and August. The store is open full time May through September and is open on ‘good weather’ weekends in March, April, and October. In summer, sandwiches are sold 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Strudel and jam can be shipped year round.

During lavender festival, they had a limited menu of sandwiches. I had a wrap made with an array of fresh, organic vegetables grown on their farm. It was served with a side of sweet cherries. It’s amazing how good a simple wrap can be when it is made with just-picked produce. I wasn’t sure about what was in the area, so I contacted them through their Facebook page the day before. I asked about vegetarian lunch options. I was very pleased and impressed that they responded to me right away – especially since they were busy preparing for an event.

I attended the herb garden tour which was delightful. The herb garden is 2.5 to 3 acres (including the lavender) with any herb that I could think of growing in it - and herbs that I did not know existed. The tour included culinary, medicinal, and folkloric herbal information. The 36 bed herb garden is an intricate pattern of circles that form a beautiful labyrinth.

It is easy to make the Shelby area a full day trip. The Fox Barn winery and gift shop is around the corner from Cherry Point. And, a couple of miles north are the dune rides, Silver Lake, and other family activities.

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