The Wisconsin Gardener, with producer/host Shelley Ryan, is a complete and practical source of information for gardeners throughout the state. Since its premiere in 1992, Ryan and her guests have been a valuable resource for Wisconsin Public Television viewers, presenting gardening tips specific to Wisconsin.

"Gardening is America's number one hobby," says Ryan "But gardening isn't the same everywhere, and sometimes it's hard to find the answers you need when you have problems in your own garden."

Ryan, who earned the status "Master Gardener" from the Dane County Horticulture Extension Office, became interested in plants during high school. "I had two great teachers who really inspired my interest," she says, "I remember going on a field trip to the University of Wisconsin Arboretum and being really impressed that our guide could identify all of the plants. I was hooked from then on."

Her first garden consisted of vegetables planted in a gravel ditch near the apartment she was renting. Ryan says she still is amazed that anything grew there.

Today, Ryan and her husband Dennie, who is a music librarian for Wisconsin Public Radio, tend their gardens of heirloom and native species surrounding their Victorian home in Blue Mounds.

Since the birth of their son Kably in 1996, gardening has become a real family affair with mom and son sharing time together in the vegetable garden. According to Ryan, the best idea she and Dennie ever had was to place Kably's sandbox inside the fenced-in vegetable garden. Here, he delights in after-dinner play as well as picking and eating fresh vegetables while mom tends to gardening chores.

Ryan says that her son has the usual poor eating habits adopted by most of the toddler population, he doesn't eat much at the table, but likes to snack after the meal. By making after dinner their time in the garden, Ryan encourages him to snack on her home grown produce. He is also beginning to recognize peas, beans, zucchini, tomatoes and raspberries and to learn colors. Ryan says that feeding a child has heightened her awareness about chemicals in foods and she now does organic gardening with a purpose.

While Ryan admits that gardening with her son has added to her gardening enjoyment, it also has its down side. Her formal, perennial bed now has pumpkins growing in it.

Ryan considers herself a true gardening enthusiast, and could talk about gardening all day and every day. That's why hosting and producing The Wisconsin Gardener is the perfect job for her.

"I have found horticulturists, scientists and master gardeners to be some of the nicest and most enjoyable people to work with. They all love to share their gardening experiences, and I get the opportunity to learn while talking with my guests," says Ryan.

"It's a job that lets me learn every day I work, and I work with some wonderful people," says Ryan. "Frank Boll, the program's videographer, and Kerman Eckes, sound recordist, have been with me from the beginning. We have great rapport that makes working together a real joy."

Ryan also enjoys joking with the camera crew who keeps telling her that she has to limit use of her favorite exclamation "Oh Really!" to only once or twice in a program.

But all joking aside, Ryan credits the continued success of The Wisconsin Gardener to having learned more about the art of television production and of course, gardening.

SHELLEY RYAN IS FEATURED IN ISTHMUS