Originally a farmhouse built around 1840, the Osborne Homestead Museum is now one of fifteen distinctive historic sites in Connecticut.  Frances Eliza Osborne (1876-1956) was the last of the Osborne family children and deeded the 350-acre property to Connecticut to preserve it as a state park for future generations.

A decorated sconce at the Osborne Homestead Museum.

Every December for more than 30 years, local garden clubs have prepared lavish holiday decorations following an annually chosen theme.  The 2016 theme, “A Sparkling Holiday,” showcases each room in the sparkling, rich colors of gemstones.  The Olde Ripton Garden Club (ORGC) decorated the Osborne parents’ bedroom in emerald.

On Thursday, November 30, the Osborne Homestead Museum honored the garden club volunteers for their talent and hard work at the Annual Winter Holiday Volunteer Appreciation Party.  Our Osborne Homestead Museum Decorating Committee (Linda Hooper, Linda Tura,  Fran Hope, and Maggie Howell) were all in attendance to accept their certificate of appreciation.

The ORGC Osborne Homestead Museum Decorating Committee and attending officers. From L-R, President Renee Protomastro, decorating committee members Linda Tura, Linda Hooper, Maggie Howell, and Fran Hope, and 1st Vice President Joyce Donnelly

The Osborne Homestead Museum is open to the public, and the decorated rooms offer inspiration for specific holiday color schemes.  Continue reading →

What do you do with standing dried flower stalks and pods in late autumn?  Should hydrangeas be pruned now or next year?  Will piled leaves left on a garden adversely affect the plants or soil?  How is the 2016 drought affecting Connecticut?  In November’s meeting, we tackled these concerns while presenting late autumn arrangement ideas for Thanksgiving and ways to create winter holiday decorations from resources in your own yard.

The guest presenter for November was Rob Flater of Benedict’s Home & Garden, demonstrating how to construct holiday arrangements from inexpensive props and natively found flora.  Rob led off with a brief history of kissing balls, then described how to use a kissing ball kit (available at Benedict’s Home & Garden) to construct one from fresh materials.  He followed up with a demonstration of building evergreen arrangements for floor containers and tabletops.

Joyce Fedorko, Horticulture Chair, presented tips from Natureworks Horticultural Services, LLC for preparing garden beds for winter.  Preparations are a gradual process, and the generally accepted advice is “If it’s yellow or brown, cut it down, if it’s green, leave it alone.”  Tips for specific plants were addressed through Q & A.

The 2016 drought continues to be deeply problematic for Connecticut.  Master Gardener and past ORGC president Renee Marsh gave a “Caring for the Earth in Our Backyards” presentation, covering its impact on the state and steps gardeners can take to care for their plants in in the extreme conditions.  Renee devoted extra attention to the critical — and fragile — organisms and structure of soil.  Soil ecology of forest and perennial garden environments differs significantly from that of lawns and vegetable gardens, and she stressed the importance of treating them differently.  Reiterating tips from Joyce’s garden bed preparations discussion, Renee explained that autumn leaf accumulation on garden beds helps prevent moisture loss, feeds microorganisms in its decomposition, and provides protection in winter months.

Members had an opportunity to view the awards given to ORGC in 2016, including the First Place Certificate of Commendation from the National Garden Clubs and both the Award of Excellence pewter bowl trophy from the Federated Garden Clubs of CT and First Place from the New England Regional Garden Clubs for the 2015 ORGC yearbook.  In addition to discussion and display of the certificates, 1st Vice President Joyce Donnelly presented the Federated Garden Clubs of CT Certificate of Individual Achievement to ORGC 40-year Charter Member Claire Norris.

The meeting included many examples of late autumn arrangements ideal for Thanksgiving tabletops.  Among the favorites were creative uses of pumpkins and smaller gourds as containers and incorporation of sweeping, feathery grasses.

At a sold-out awards luncheon held October 26 at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, CT the Olde Ripton Garden Club received a number of recognitions for outstanding achievement.

The Club received a First Place Certificate of Commendation from the National Garden Clubs and another First Place Prize from the New England Regional Garden Clubs for the Olde Ripton Garden Club 2015 Yearbook. They also received an Award of Excellence in the form of a pewter bowl from the Federated Garden Clubs of CT for the 2015 Yearbook.

In addition, the Club was recognized with a First Place Certificate of Merit for their website and brochure by the Federated Garden Clubs of CT.

Claire Norris, a 40-year Charter member of the Club was given a Certificate of Individual Achievement from the Federated Garden Clubs of CT for her long-time contributions to the Olde Ripton Garden Club. Claire continues as an active member and is known for her work in floral arrangements, the Club’s annual plant sale and gardening of all types.

The Federated Garden Clubs of CT is an educational organization made up of 6.537 individual members, 124 clubs and 16 affiliate organizations whose work has enriched our homes, our gardens and our communities for the past 87 years. The National Garden Clubs provides education, resources, and national networking opportunities for its members to promote the love of gardening, floral design, and civic and environmental responsibility.

Autumn marks a turn in the gardening year but is full of activities, as enthusiasts make their final flower cuttings, prep garden beds, and plant trees and shrubs.  It’s a time of reflection on existing garden health and plans for the next growing season.  And the fall has its own burst of beauty in colors and cold-weather crops.  Our October meeting put all on display.

Eric Wolf from the Shelton Intermediate School spoke about their Gardening Enrichment Program, presenting a timeline and photos of the ambitious and highly successful initiative to introduce gardening and ecology topics to students through hands-on activities.  Shelton Intermediate School now includes an indoor aquaponic system (the combination of traditional hydroponic gardening with a fish enclosure providing fertilization), a greenhouse, and raised bed gardens.  Students participate in all steps of vegetable gardening, from planting seeds through harvesting crops.  Upcoming plans include a butterfly garden.  Shelton’s program has served as a model and inspiration for similar programs in other towns, and we are thrilled to see enthusiasm for gardening beginning within the school system.

The meeting also included a flower arranging lesson led by ORGC Recording Secretary Martha Nosal and Charter Member Claire Norris.  Members learned traditional flower arrangement designs with showy autumn blooms and branches, including asters, mums, sprigs of rose hips, and fronds of evergreen.  The meeting’s decorations and the lesson’s finished arrangements demonstrated that fall has its own unique beauty.