At our March virtual meeting, Club Horticulture Co-Chair Linda Hooper shared with us information about the solitary Mason Bee.  Mason bees are some of the first bees to emerge in the spring. They can tolerate temperatures down to 55 degrees, for much of North America, this means that mason bees will be active beginning in late February to early April.

Mason Bees are excellent pollinators, but unlike Honey Bees, they do not produce honey, they are named for their habit of using mud or other masonry products in constructing their nests.   A variety of commercial nesting boxes are available at garden shops and online.

For our March virtual meeting we welcomed Christine Cummings, President and Co-Founder of “A Place Called Hope.”  A Place Called Hope  is run entirely by volunteers,  along with donations of time, supplies and money from supporters. One of their goals is to teach the public how to protect and respect wildlife, in particular raptors.

We were delighted that Christine shared her red-tailed hawk, Cheyenne, and her barred owl Zen with us. Cheyenne came to A Place Called Hope after a car strike which caused wing damage that made it impossible to gain height when flying. Zen was found by construction workers after falling out of the nest as a young chick. Because birds imprint on the first living thing they see, Zen imprinted with the workers who cared for him and because of this he would no longer be able to survive in the wild.  Both birds will be cared for and live out their lives at A Place Called Hope.

Now that winter is upon us, we are spending more time with our indoor plants.  We welcomed back Master Gardener Nicole Christensen.  Nicole talked about the proper care of houseplants and shared many helpful hints and information to succeed at indoor gardening.

Photos of Nicole’s houseplants are taken from her blog “Suburban Farmgirl”

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Around Shelton the Olde Ripton Garden Club maintains civic gardens. Club members decorated the welcome sign at the Shelton High School entrance and added holiday wreathes to the gardens at the Huntington Community Center and the fountain at the Huntington Center Green.

Shelton High School

Huntington Community Center

Fountain on the Huntington Green

The Olde Ripton Garden Club maintains Civic Gardens around the town of Shelton.  Pictured here are gardens in the Huntington Center Green, the Huntington Community Center and the Shelton High School.  Members of the club are hard at work all year caring for these and various other gardens in Shelton.

Huntington Center

Community Center

Huntington Center

Shelton High School

Our September meeting featured a video conference with
Theresa Gallagher, Natural Resource Manager for the City of Shelton.

Theresa shared with us information about the 30 miles of marked
hiking trails in Shelton. Trails are created and maintained by volunteers.

These trails include:
Shelton Riverwalk, Shelton Lakes Recreation Path, Shelton Lakes Greenway Trail Network, Gristmill Trail on the Far Mill River, Boehm Pond Trails, Means Brook Greenway, Tahmore Trail & Indian Well S.P., The Bluff Walk (Riverview Trail),
and the Paugussett (“Blue Dot”) Trail.

To learn more about the Shelton Conservation Commission visit their website at:

http://sheltonconservation.org/recreation/shelton_trails.html

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This month for our virtual meeting we welcomed Siddhi Sheth who is a Registered Dietician with ShopRite of Shelton.  Siddhi discussed the benefits of eating seasonal produce, tips for finding foods in season and cooking using seasonal items.

Gardeners love earthworms…but not all earthworms are good for our gardens! This month we welcomed Nicole Christensen who gave a virtual presentation about the  invasive species known as the Asian Jumping Worm.

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As we continue to conduct our meetings virtually, please check back regularly to see when we will once again return to our regular meetings at the Plumb Memorial Library.

If you are new to our website or have come back to visit, be sure to check the above tabs.  The various tabs will give you a look into who we are and some of the interesting things we have accomplished in the past.

This month, as we continue with our virtual meetings, we were delighted to see the program, “Small Furry Critters and You,” presented by past president Renee Marsh.

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The May meeting of the Olde Ripton Garden Club will not be held at the Plumb Memorial Library due to Covid-19.  A virtual meeting will be held for members on Monday, May 4th at 10:00.  Please check back to see when we will resume our regular monthly meetings

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May welcomes the return of flowering trees and shrubs, look for our Native Dogwood trees to be blooming around Mother’s Day.

Because we are spending our days at home, to help brighten your spirits try visiting the New York Botanical Gardens’ interactive website.  https://www.nybg.org/nybg-at-home/

Another website with virtual garden tours is House Beautiful’s 8 virtual gardens from around the world.  https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/garden/g31913008/best-virtual-tours-garden/

The April meeting of the Olde Ripton Garden Club has been cancelled due to Covid-19.  Check back often to see when we will resume our monthly meetings.

During this time when most of us are spending time at home, go outside and welcome the spring!  Forsythia is in full bloom in many yards, flowering spring bulbs have popped up and Bleeding Hearts have poked out of the ground.

Our pollinators are also starting to show up, look for the Ruby Throated Hummingbird to return to Connecticut between the18th and the 25th of April.  To feed Hummingbirds use this simple recipe of 1 part sugar to 4 parts of water.  Make sure to use only plain white sugar as honey and other sugars may be harmful to Hummingbirds.  Make sure to refrigerate any left over food, check the feeders often to assure that the food hasn’t spoiled.

This month we welcomed Cathy Ritch who shared flower arranging techniques with us.

Cathy’s arrangements are unique and simplistic in design.  Using striking leaves and greenery to compliment the flowers, an attractive centerpiece is fashioned.

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