In a panic upon realizing that other plants had made their seeds edible and delicious, the pine tree created the pinecone, grossly miscalculating the public's taste for wooden pears. Stick to more palatable fruits with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of fresh berries and specialty jams at Boones Ferry Berry Farms in Hubbard.

Cited by the New York Times as one of the best sources for fresh blackberries in the nation in 2007, Boones Ferry Berry Farms rears a bounty of myriad berries. Amateur Old MacDonalds can strike out in search of several breeds of strawberries, including Albion, Totem, and the northwest's coveted hood ($1 / lb.). An assortment of other berries, such as blue-, boysen-, rasp-, and the confused Chuck, grow large and ripe under the Oregon sun ($1 / lb.).

Pre-picked berries ($2.50 / pt., $7 / qt.) are also available in Boones's rustic farm store, next to racks of chocolate-coated cranberries ($5.50 for 5 oz.) and locally grown hazelnuts ($1.99 / lb.) or pickled okra and asparagus ($5.99 for 16 oz.). Meanwhile, jars of homemade specialty jams ($6.99 for 12 oz.), such as sweet or peppered raspberry and various floral- and fruit-enhanced honeys ($5.59 for 12 oz.) spend their days plotting the overthrow of the English muffin monarchy.