AEVAN CARO
There’s nothing more exciting than picking fresh, plump, red strawberries and enjoying them afterwards. You can eat them plain, dip in chocolate, add on salads, put in pies and muffins, turn into jam or a refreshing smoothie. With these amazing things you can do with one of nature’s sweetest treats, who wouldn’t be enamored of the flavor that it brings?
Since travelling has become a luxury for many nowadays, here’s a quick solution to experience the cool weather and the joy of fruit picking in Riyadh province. Let’s go strawberry picking! Yes, in Riyadh!
In the outskirts of Riyadh, there are two popular strawberry farms which have become favorite weekend destinations of families and friends – the Hanging Strawberry Garden and the Strawberry Lake.
The Hanging Strawberry Garden is located in a small town in the northern part of Riyadh called Al Amaria. With a distance of around 30 kilometers from the Diplomatic Quarter (DQ), travelling by car will take about 30 to 40 minutes going there.
Everyone can enter the Hanging Strawberry Garden. It neither requires any appointment nor an entrance fee. Visitors are greeted by the staff handing out plastic containers for those who would like to pick strawberries. Each pack costs SR 30 and the freedom of filling those containers is all yours. They provide scissors to avoid pulling the fruits. Hanging Strawberry Garden is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays from 6 A.M. to sunset.
If you’re into quite a longer road trip, Strawberry Lake is for you.
The road to this strawberry farm leads to the direction of Al Kharj. Strawberry Lake is about 60 kilometers away from the DQ which may take around 45-50 minutes by car and it requires a SR 10 entrance fee for adults and SR 5 for children.
Apart from strawberries, the Strawberry Lake, from its name, has a man-made lake in the middle of the area with a few ducks and geese, a traditional tent, a fish farm, a bird house, and a grassy lawn.
As you enter the greenhouse, the aromatic scent of their vertically-stacked strawberry shrubs begins to irresistibly captivate every visitor’s senses. The sweet scent of strawberries brought us to a special place that blocked out the sand and dust of the desert.
Picking strawberries in the Strawberry Lake is SR 20 per container and for proper care of the plants, a pair of scissors will be provided as well. Strawberry Lake is open every day from 4:00 P.M. to 01:00 A.M.
Growing strawberries in a place like Riyadh became doable through exhaust fans and a system called evaporative cooling which eliminates excess heat and add humidity inside the greenhouse.
Both strawberry farms are well-ventilated to provide an optimal growing environment to ensure the quality of their produce.
In selecting strawberries, go for those that look plump and firm with bright red colors and sweet-scented aroma to guarantee that you are choosing the freshest and juiciest ones.
These strawberry farms are not forever because they’re seasonal but for now, enjoy these red, plump, juicy fruits from Riyadh’s newest and popular destinations.
