Join radical vegetable gardener and Garden Rant blogger Michele Owens at the Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Street, Stockbridge, on Saturday, February 16 from 1 – 3 for a lecture on the joys of vegetable gardening in the minimalist style. Since World War II, most Americans have seen supermarkets and processed foods as the height of convenience. The truth is that nothing is more convenient than ending a workday by wandering into the backyard and picking something delicious for dinner. In fact, tending a vegetable garden can take much less time every week than getting into a car, driving to a supermarket and pushing a cart around its miles of aisles. And it is certainly a more life-affirming experience! Learn why the most beautiful and ecologically sound gardens nearly take care of themselves and prove that you don’t have to quit the day job in order to have a steady source of gorgeous food outside the back door.

Michele Owens is a joyful vegetable gardener of two decades. Her book, Grow the Good Life: Why a Vegetable Garden Will Make You Happy, Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, was published by Rodale in 2011. The New York Times called it “the best” of a “bumper crop of books about vegetable gardening,” “breezy, cantankerous and funny.” Michele is a founding partner of Garden Rant, one of the most popular and influential gardening blogs, and writes about gardening for publications that include O, The Oprah Magazine, Garden Design and Organic Gardening. She lives with her family in Saratoga Springs, NY.  $25 for BBG members, $35 for non members.  Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.