“Growing Beautiful Food” is a chronicle of growing food and living sustainably as a transformative experience, with all the joy, folly, work and wonder of it told through evocative words and photographs.

With his organic farm (Stonegate Farm) as a backdrop, Matthew Benson’s Benson’s program offers insight into the history and practice of farming as an art form, as both ornament and nourishment, as well as an examination of the broken politics of our current food system. The program shows that almost anyone can take their preened, green patch of grass or garden and turn it into a vibrant, local food¬shed. By exploring the idea of integrating edibles into the flower garden, and transitioning aesthetic gardeners into food growers, the suburban lot becomes a hallmark of the paradigm shift towards a more local, sustainable lifestyle.

At the heart and soul of “Growing Beautiful Food” are seasonal observations on the rhythms of small farm life, from madly swarming bees and wayward chickens to harvesting miraculous floral salads or making quince preserves. These observations are integrated into a field guide for backyard food growers, with detailed growing advice for growing extraordinary crops, ranging from salad greens, fruiting vegetables, tree fruit and berries to cut flowers, bees, and chickens.

Biography
Matthew is a contributing editor and television spokesman for Rodale’s Organic Gardening. He writes and photographs frequently on issues of small-scale farming, sustainability, organics, and food justice. He is on the National Speakers Tour for the Garden Clubs of America and lectures widely on Garden and Landscape Photography.