Strawberries, Mangoes, and Magic in the Garden

There’s a particular kind of joy that only arrives with the first fruits of summer — a joy that's sun-warmed, juice-drippy, and sweet enough to make you pause mid-bite and say, “Is it just me, or does this taste like childhood?”

While exploring the best bits of summer’s fruit bowl, we stumbled upon a double delight: the juiciest strawberries of the season, and a mango too beautiful to ignore.

The strawberries came first — bright, plump, and nestled in a vintage glass bowl like nature’s jewels. Picked under the dappled shade of cow parsley and soft ferns, they felt like a secret reward. No need for sugar, cream, or fanfare. Just the crunch of grass, a few giggles, and that unmistakable burst of red-fruit bliss.

Picked under the dappled shade of cow parsley and soft ferns, they felt like a secret reward. No need for sugar, cream, or fanfare. Just the crunch of grass, a few giggles, and that unmistakable burst of red-fruit bliss.

Later, came the mango. Oh, the mango.

It arrived like the grand finale. Heavy, fragrant, and flushed with golden green and blush-red — the kind of fruit that demands to be held with two hands and studied with great seriousness (as our smallest food stylists happily demonstrated).

Watching the kids cradle it, marvel at its weight, and press it to their cheeks was a gentle reminder of what this space — Wild and Plated — is all about.

Food, yes. But food alive. Food held, shared, examined, celebrated. Whether it's picked from the garden or plucked from the fruit bowl, it's the little in-between moments — the handing over, the first bite, the sticky fingers — that tell the real stories.

These photos weren’t planned. They just happened. A bowl of strawberries left out in the sun. A mango passed between curious hands. A child discovering that yes, mango skin smells amazing but no, you don’t eat it. (Lesson learned.)

And that’s the heart of what I want to share with you here — food styling that’s grounded in life. That embraces imperfection. That tells the story of the food before it ever hits the plate.

Because real food doesn't sit still. It squishes, stains, topples, and vanishes. And sometimes — if you’re lucky — it lets you capture a little of its magic along the way.

Stay tuned: There’s talk of mango lassi and strawberry shortcake coming to the table soon...

— Alison x
Founder of Wild and Plated