The 2022 Houseplant of the Year is peperomia. Peperomia is in the family Piperaceae or the pepper family and are members of the peperomia family are highly decorative houseplants!

In Wisconsin, some growing seasons have abundant rainfall and others do not. Seldom do we go through an entire season without needing some supplemental watering.

Dodge County is graced with many lakes, rivers, and streams. Much of the shoreline of this vast water network is on private land, and we manage it for recreational use, property beautification, and for the creatures who inhabit this place between land and water, known as the riparian zone.

It is January and the weather outside is frightful; what is a gardener to do? The catalogs are rolling in and it is time to plan!

Cyclamen is a lesser known, but oft-appreciated addition to the gift giving line-up.  With its brilliant blooms and marbled foliage, it has definite eye appeal.  You might just become the recipient’s favorite gift-giver, even if the recipient is you. 

Hardy geraniums are a great choice for a ground cover plant in sun to part-shade locations. Perennial hardy geraniums are the “true geranium” with about 300 species available, including one native to Wisconsin woodlands. With a myriad of choices, there is a hardy geranium suited to every landscape, although they are vastly underused.

2020 has been a challenging and unusual year. The gardening season was unusual as well, as I encountered considerably more fungi than I have seen in the past. While none of these fungi are pathogenic (disease-causing), they are a site to behold, and worthy of discussion.