Stuart Perry’s love of blueberries is long-standing. “I really could not tell you where I developed my love for blueberries,” the Perry Wellness Center founder and CEO says. “But in Marion County and Buena Vista, some of us would walk areas that were filled with blackberries – and probably some large rattlesnakes. We were young and daring and enjoyed walking together to pick blackberries and pop them in our mouths. That was a fun time.”

At times, Stuart has dreamed of planting an area adjacent to his Americus home with blueberries. These days, he enjoys them on the grounds of Perry Wellness Center. Along with Snowball plants, they are planted around the fountain in Hope Park. In this season, they are full of berries.

“I like to check the blueberries and pick and eat some as they ripen,” Stuart confesses with a smile.

In the photo above, fruit-filled blueberry plants and Snowball plants ripen in the Perry Wellness Center gardens.