It’s time to plant the City Flower in gardens throughout Shelton. The Shelton Board of Alderman designated the Orange Coneflower (rudbeckia fulgida) the City Flower in 2016. The Olde Ripton Garden Club is encouraging residents and businesses to grow this flower in their gardens around the City this coming spring just as they did last year when it was introduced.

Rudbeckia fulgida “Goldsturm’ is a large, daisy-like flower named for it orange tinged petals in keeping with Shelton School’s colors. It is easy to grow and can be grown in containers or naturalized in meadows and planted freely around homes. The Orange Coneflower is a native plant that will grow readily in our area and it is a perennial assuring that it will return to our gardens year after year. It is attractive to birds, bees and many pollinators that are needed for our gardens to thrive; it blooms from midsummer through the fall; and provides a long season of color.    

For more information about the City Flower, please visit www.olderiptongardenclub.org or visit a nursery in our area.

The Olde Ripton Garden Club will be selling the flower at their annual plant sale on May 20 at St. Paul’s Church from 9 am – 12 noon.

April is an exciting month for gardeners.  It is that middle month of spring hinting at bright, hot summer days ahead — while reminding that the gray chill of winter may still have a visit or two left.  Here in Connecticut, we’ll be met one day with soaking rains and warming soil, and another day with a blustery blast from the newly-departed cold.  Continue reading →

Photo credit: Kindra Clineff

Tovah Martin, seen on TV shows like Martha Stewart and PBS as well as author of many gardening books and articles in publications throughout the country will visit the Olde Ripton Garden Club at their April 3 meeting.  Continue reading →

We’re on the cusp of a new gardening season, and the warm weather can’t arrive fast enough.  For our first meeting of the year, we took a break from the brisk March weather to rally garden enthusiasm with topics on pruning and forcing forsythia — and to take a virtual tour of the Gardens of Williamsburg. Continue reading →

Over the weekend of February 23 through February 26, The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut hosted the 2017 Connecticut Flower and Garden Show, “Woodland Enchantment,” at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.  We’re proud to announce that ORGC members Renee Marsh and Kimberly Wehger were awarded First, Second, and Third Place across two Photography classes. Continue reading →

This is a reminder that our next meeting is Monday, March 6 at 10 am at the Plumb Memorial Library. Our featured presenter will be Sandy Nesteriak taking us on a tour of the Gardens of WIlliamsburg.  Read more here…

We want to remind all Shelton gardeners that The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut 2017 Connecticut Flower and Garden Show, “Woodland Enchantment,” is this weekend from Thursday, February 23 through Sunday, February 26 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Harford.

What can you find at the show?  Gardeners from around the state will be featuring specimens in an Advanced-Standard flower show.  Educational exhibits of the theme “Mighty Woods” will offer gardening, forest, and ecology information from groups such as UCONN Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Greenhouses, Rhododendron Society of CT, CT Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), and CT Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG). You’ll also be able to browse a wide variety of goods and services vendors, from plants, seeds, fertilizers, and bed kits to shed builders, landscaping heavy equipment, and landscape designers.

For more information, including show times, directions, and ticket price, please see the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut show flier, available on their website.

The next meeting of the Olde Ripton Garden Club of Shelton will be held on Monday, March 6 at 10 am at the Plumb Memorial Library, 65 Wooster St. downtown Shelton.

The meeting will feature a program on “The Gardens of Williamsburg” with speaker Sandy Nesteriak, a long-time Club member and a frequent visitor to the Gardens of Williamsburg. Continue reading →

Connecticut saw a major snowstorm today, including thundersnow, blizzard warnings in sections of the state, and overall snowfall rates of 1-3 inches per hour.  Shelton had a total accumulation of approximately 10 inches.

What does snowfall mean in terms of moisture?  NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) explains that 13 inches of snow typically equals 1 inch of rain.  This can vary, depending on snow’s lightness or sleet-like qualities.¹  Therefore, Continue reading →

Take a look at the ground in your yard, and you may note distressingly parched turf, powdery and loose even in the cold weather.  In October 2016, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy asked residents and businesses to voluntarily reduce water consumption by 15% in “Drought Watch” areas and by 10% in “Drought Advisory” areas.  Connecticut has had three consecutive years of precipitation shortfall, with some drinking water reservoirs now less than half full.  Unfortunately, this water shortage is continuing into 2017, and recovery will need continuing conservation efforts from residents. Continue reading →

Part of Our “Making Your Garden Work for You” 2016-2017 Theme Series

As we pass the mid-point of January, we enter the deepest phase of winter – which brings to New England the coldest temperatures and heaviest precipitation. A glance out your window or a brisk walk through your yard or a park, however, will show that winter is anything but desolate. Squirrels continue to scurry from undergrowth to tree, and branches are alight with a variety of overwintering birds.

In November, we discussed the important role gardens can play in the ecosystem, with members Renee Marsh (past ORGC president and master gardener) and Joyce Fedorko (Horticulture Chair) presenting garden bed preparation considerations and information on soil and wildlife needs. Here in the coldest months of the year, gardeners can see the payoff of this advice. Continue reading →

CT Flower & Garden Show – “Woodland Enchantment” Feb 23-26, CT Convention Center, Hartford. Federated Garden Club Members pay $12.00 per ticket in advance ($16.00 at the door). Renee Marsh and Kimberly Wehger will be participating in the Photograpy Competition. This is a major fundraiser for Federated so let’s get a good turn-out and cheer Renee and Kimberly on!

 
Ticket orders must be received by Feb. 1. Send checks made out to: Olde Ripton Garden Club to Diane Moran, 56 Cloverdale Avenue, Shelton.

All around Shelton, wreaths designed and created by Olde Ripton Garden Club (ORGC) are on display!  At our December 5th meeting, we held a wreath-making workshop to prepare decorations for the community.  The beautiful creations from our members can now be viewed at businesses and public buildings throughout town.  For ORGC, giving back to the residents of Shelton is an important part of our club mission, and we are delighted by the enjoyment the decorations have provided.

Shelton City Hall features several wreaths.  The first greets visitors from the overhead glass window above the double door entrance.  Others can be found in the Mayor’s Office.   Continue reading →