There’s nothing like springtime — warmer weather, fragrant blooms and juicy strawberries.

Strawberry season came early this year, thanks to unusually warm temperatures starting in February. Early spring frosts often spell disaster for tender blooms, but the warmer weather worked in favor of the berries, according to Southside Farms owner Shawn Harding.

“By the time the cold weather got here in March, these were already green berries, so we were able to save the berries that were on there,” Harding said. “It’s a little easier to protect a berry than a flower, so that was a positive from having a warm February.”

The strawberry plant thrives in 70-degree weather, blooming first and then growing into a berry to ripen. Thriving strawberry plants mean thriving business for Southside Farms.

“California and Florida dominate the strawberry business in this country, but we have a window when ours are here, and they’re better,” Harding said. “The longer we can have a season, then the better it should be for us in North Carolina.”

Harding said he is hoping for a nine-week season this year; the season usually runs from six to eight weeks — or whenever the 90-degree weather sets in. Extra time for berries will hopefully make up for any blooms lost to frost, he explained.

“We did have some blooms, flowers, that were damaged in the cold weather. … The bloom is the most fragile part of the plant,” Harding said. “Right now, it’s a guessing game, but we’re cautiously optimistic.”

He said the farm is grateful for the community’s ongoing support after close to two decades in the strawberry business, and some residents even checked in to see how the berries fared in the cold this year.

“It’s the first fruit. You know, it says spring like no other fruit, and folks are just ready for spring,” he said. “We’ve never opened before the 10th of April, so we had to open last Saturday, and we’ve been picking strawberries all week.”

And as long as the spring weather holds, there’ll be plenty of berry picking to come.