Blueberries have good taste. That statement might seem like an obvious, if uninspired, way to begin an article on the delights and health benefits of blueberries. But it isn’t meant to be. There’s no denying, now that blueberries have joined the ranks of beans, broccoli, oats, soy, salmon, spinach, and yogurt, among others, as Super foods--the way Superman, and Green Arrow and Aquaman and Wonderwoman and Batman, among others, formed the Justice League of America to save the USA from doom--that blueberries are the Mighty Mites of the nutritional world. But anyone who has spent time in the blueberry plantings of New England or the Atlantic seaboard as the bushes are reaching their summer peaks knows that the appeal of blueberries goes beyond their health benefits and the smoky-moist sweetness they added to blueberry muffins and acorn squash. It is also rooted in their good fashion sense. Blueberries are meant to be painted. The changing colors in which Mother Nature has dressed the ripening berries, against the backdrop of the blueberry bushes’ rich green leaves, are a perfectly analogous color scheme, straight off the Color Wheel. The tiny clusters of cup-shaped blossoms of spring shed their white petals, take on a pale green color, and as their cells expand, the green color deepens to chartreuse as the tiny berries become rounder. That’s when the real color show begins. As the blueberries mature, the chartreuse color first develops a pale pinkish cast, which gradually deepens to lavender and pale blue, and finally to the deep, smoky violet-blue of the ripe berry. But the delightful aspect of the process, to the artist’s eye, is that the berries ripen at different rates. Every bush will simultaneously have green, lavender, lavender-blue, and deep violet-blue berries. That particular combination of colors is one of the most soothing and harmonious of all. Professional decorators know this; just head for the nearest wallpaper store and look at the bedroom wallpaper samples. Papers with blue, green, and lavender or purple patterns will be among the most popular. Those colors, like the blue skies, green meadows, and distant purple hills on a summer afternoon, relax people. And even when the blueberries have all been picked, the bushes themselves have more to offer. After their green chlorophyll has finished nourishing the bushes, the leaves change to the yellows, oranges, and scarlet--another analogous color scheme, by the way--of autumn, bring a touch of warmth to fall landscapes when the bright summer blooms have faded. Blueberry bushes not only fill a kitchen with all the good things their fruit provides, and load the human body with more nutrients than most over-processed foods can supply in a month; they can bring home gardens a colorful touch, from late spring until the last leaf falls. There’s an old English folk song, dating to the 1600s, which begins “Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly; lavender’s green”. But lavender isn’t really green, and the English folk singers of that time had never seen a blueberry. If they had, they could have sung, “Blueberry’s blue, dilly dilly, blueberry’s green.” And they would have been right. That’s because blueberries have good taste. Sam Serio is a true blue devotee of the blueberry and a life long student of health and nutrition. Sam Serio is also the producer of the Annual Chincoteague Blueberry Festival which is held the third weekend of July on the beautiful island of Chincoteague in Virginia. This midsummer celebration of nature's tastiest and most healthy gift - the Blueberry is combined with a "Christmas in July" Craft Shopping Extravaganza the premier Fine Art and Craft event on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. For more information, please visit http://www.ChincoteagueBlueberryFestival.com and pick up your free e-book entitled "A Healthy Taste for Blueberries". This free special report reveals everything you ever wanted to know about blueberries, but were afraid to ask. Also includes recipes, beauty secrets, health benefits and much more. Get yours now at http://www.ChincoteagueBlueberryFestival.com. Source: www.ezinearticles.com
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