The last month of the year is a time for celebration and reflection, no matter which religious observances and traditions are in your family. When I was a kid, I remember my mother always making a big deal about getting out the old typewriter and the clack, clack, clack as she finger-pecked her way through documenting a year of our lives. In the age before Facebook and Instagram, this was how people got status updates. I may be using a laptop instead of a typewriter, and you may be reading this in an email instead of ripping open an envelope, but the sentiment remains. So please sit back with your favorite beverage (and maybe a cookie) to enjoy the Johnson's Nursery highlights of 2014.

We finally got a new monument sign! Our vintage Johnson's Nursery sign was sent to pasture and replaced with a sleek, eye-catching version to welcome visitors to the Menomonee Falls location Headquarters. The structure was built by our talented hardscape crew during the bitter cold of January (in a make shift tent with heaters going strong, day and night). New outdoor lighting and a facelift on the surrounding landscape added the final flourishes.

Saturday, June 14th we hosted an annual plant sale to benefit the Wild Ones native plant organization. On that day, native enthusiasts from throughout southeast Wisconsin arrived to take advantage of 15% off all native plants that we grow (at least the ones in containers). People who took the plunge and signed up to become Wild Ones that day received an additional 5% off their purchase. A portion of the sales that day went directly to the three local Wild Ones chapters.

Also on June 14th, (and again on October 18th) we paired with the Waukesha County Recycling Program for a pot event (not like the kind in Colorado!). Everyone has random plastic pots and trays gathering dust in a garage or basement. Unfortunately though, there are no facilities in Wisconsin that are capable of recycling them so they often end up in landfills. In an effort to encourage "Green Thinking" with "Green Actions", we invited people to drop these off in Menomonee Falls, where they were sorted and palletized to be shipped to a facility in Michigan. We plan to expand the program in 2015, so save your landscape plastic and bring it to us!

When the winter cold starts getting you down, just think about August and the Wisconsin State Fair. In July, Johnson's Nursery donated labor and a whole lot of plants to a section of the DNR's natural area in State Fair Park, just in time for the Fair's opening on Aug 1st. The DNR asked us to create a wildlife habitat and we did so with over 250 new trees, shrubs, and perennials, all of which are Wisconsin natives. As the plants establish, hopefully more native birds and other wildlife will make the space home.

Friday, Aug 22nd, Johnson's Nursery staff took part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and made a donation to the ALS Foundation. Nearly 500 gallons of ice water filled the bucket of our front end loader and was dumped on us. It wasn't so bad at first, but then the water just kept coming!

On Sept 17th, Johnson's Nursery and SEWISC (Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium) hosted for the second consecutive year "Where Ecology Meets Economy". It is an educational event intended to spark discussion and find common ground between the Green Industry and Conservation communities. The conference featured speakers Neil Diboll- President of Prairie Nursery, Kurt Dreisilker- Manager of Natural Resources for the Morton Arboretum, Kelly Schultz- Nursery Coordinator of the Lake County Forest Preserve District in Illinois, and our very own Mike Yanny- Plant Rock Star (though he's also known as Johnson's Nursery's Senior Horticulturist and is the owner of JN Plant Selections). Topics ranged from defining local ecotypes, to handling potentially invasive, non-native plants in a public green space, to "Nativars", a relatively new term for cultivars of native plants. And of course, Mike Yanny's presentation was highlighted by ones of his poems, "Eclectricity", where he channeled Ben Franklin. You truly had to be there to appreciate it! Interested? A summary written by Mike Yanny, the videos of the presentations and an audio stream of Mike's electric poem can be viewed on Mike's blog Plant Talk.

Finally, in 2014 we had many great customers visit our nursery throughout the year. We take great pride in the plants that we grow and would like to sincerely thank all of you, because, through your continued patronage, you make these special events possible. From one bunch of plant geeks to another, we wish you a warm, healthy, and happy December!