Rich with history, symbolism, and aesthetic beauty, the wreath is a favorite decoration year-round.  The beginning of December welcomes boughs of fir, spruce, and holly to the wreath form — since ancient times, evergreens have served as symbols of life and strength against the bitter cold, snow, and ice.  We concluded our 40th year with our traditional wreath-making workshop using these botanical treasures of the winter season.

Wreath bases were purchased from Jones Tree Farm.

Early on the snowy morning of December 5th, members began by unloading more than two dozen dewy, natural wreath forms from a pickup truck.  These were stacked alongside piles of winterberry, holly, boxwood, white pine, pinecones, and twigs — in the spirit of our dedication to conservation, we used only all-natural clippings and trimmings.

Once members had selected their bases and trimmings, Continue reading →

The vine is unmistakable: pliable, curling tendrils with copious, small waxen berries covered in a yellow outer layer that pops open to reveal bright crimson.

Bittersweet has both winding, pliable tendrils and woody branches. Note the red berries with a yellow outer layer.

Bittersweet is a popular autumn and winter decorating accent, given the ease with which it can be worked into wreaths and garland.  The tough, older stems have enough structure to also be useful in standing displays like urns and arrangements.

It is important to note, however, that Oriental or Asiatic Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is a non-native, highly invasive plant.  Since 2004, the state of Connecticut has prohibited the importation, sale, purchase, and cultivation of bittersweet.  Note that this includes transportation of bittersweet, either as live plants or within arrangements.  Fines for violations are set at $50 per plant.  The Connecticut law can be reviewed here.

Gardeners interested in a native alternative should look for winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata).  It can be found growing near water sources or at some garden centers.  Its bigger, bolder berries are also showier in arrangements!

For addition information on bittersweet, please see the following resources:

• Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group 1-Page Fact Sheet
• Plant Conservation Alliance Fact Sheet
• Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) Press Release

When choosing berry branches for holiday arrangements, the winterberry holly is a great, native alternative to bittersweet.

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.

On October 3rd, the club voted for the winners of the City Flower Contest.  All submissions were beautiful, and each presented our Shelton city flower, Rudbeckia fulgia, as a key plant in its garden.  After careful consideration, we are delighted to share the top three photos of the contest:

1st Place
$25 Gift Certificate to Common Bond Market
Tom Samorajczyk

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2nd Place
$15 Gift Certificate to Common Bond Market
Jeaneen Buchanan

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3rd Place
$10 Gift Certificate to Common Bond Market
Joe Pereira

Thank you to everyone who submitted photos to the contest.  We are grateful to our community and to the Shelton Herald for its support in this effort.

The Olde Ripton Garden Club will test plant skills in a game of “Garden Jeopardy” at their Sept. 12 meeting. The game will challenge players to identify flowers, natives and invasive plants, pollinators, and offer a special category for the State of CT flora and fauna.

This fun event is hands-on and enjoyable for gardeners one and all.  A “Plant Mystery” segment will help identify plants that even seasoned gardeners may be baffled by.  If there is an unknown plant in your collection, bring it along and we’ll see if we can identify it.

Also featured at this meeting is a Plant Swap.  If you have any tired, old or unwanted plants that you’d like to swap out for something new, bring them along.  Also, a great time to thin out the beds and share the bounty of your perennials and plants with other gardeners.

The meeting will be held at 10 am at the Plumb Memorial Library.  The public is welcome to attend and new members are encouraged.  There is a visitor fee of $5.00 for non-members who come to the meeting. A special Chinese Food buffet will be served and all those attending are asked to pay an additional $5.00. Annual member dues are $25 for any who would like to join the Club.

No mastery garden experience required. You just need to love plants and nature and want to learn more.

The Olde Ripton Garden Club of Shelton has announced it will host a Garden Tour on July 9^th from 10 am until 3 pm. The tour will feature 5 member gardens in the Trumbull, Huntington, White Hills and downtown Shelton area. The gardens will be open to the public and tickets are available for $25 per person at Common Bond Market in Huntington Center. The tour should take approximately 2 hours.

The Club is celebrating its 40^th Anniversary of continued service to the Shelton community in 2016 with the theme “Growing Together”. They organized a number of new projects this year in the City.

One of these came in the form of an announcement and proclamation by the City Board of Alderman to designate the “Orange Coneflower” (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm”) as the City of Shelton’s Official Flower. The Club is encouraging residents and businesses to grow this flower in their gardens where the focus this summer will be on developing pollinator gardens in our community.

The plant will be on sale at Garden Tour homes on July 9 as well as Common Bond Market while available. A contest is also being held for those who plant the City Flower. People are asked to take of photo of their Rudbeckia and submit it to CityFlower@OldeRiptonGardenClub.org. Photos will be printed in the Shelton Herald.

Thank you to all who supported our Plant Sale on Saturday, May 14.  The event was a big success and we sold out of the City Flower, Rudbeckia, by 9:30 am.  Anyone who would like to purchase plants can pick them up at Common Bond Market in Huntington Center.

Please be sure to send photos of your Orange Coneflower to CityFlower@OldeRiptonGardenClub.org.   Photos received will be published in the Shelton Herald and winners will be announced in the Fall.  Thank you to all who are supporting the Shelton City Flower!

COME BUY SHELTON CITY FLOWERS:  RUDBECKIA “ORANGE CONEFLOWER”

The Olde Ripton Garden Club Annual Perennial Plant Sale – many from members gardens — is coming to Shelton. On Saturday, May 14 from 9 am to 12 noon there will be many garden favorites available to purchase. The Shelton City Flower, Rudbeckia (Orange Coneflower) will also be on sale there.

In addition, there will be baked goods made by Garden Club members to buy. Proceeds from this event benefit the Garden Club activities including maintenance and planting of gardens in public places around town in Shelton as well as the Club’s scholarship activities for a high school senior.

The Sale will be held rain or shine at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Parking Lot, 25 Church Street at the Huntington Green in Shelton. For more information, visit www.OldeRiptonGardenClub.org.

The Shelton City Board of Alderman designated the “Orange Coneflower” (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm”) as the City of Shelton’s Official Flower at their meeting on Thursday, Feb 11, 2016.  

The Olde Ripton Garden Club of Shelton requested the designation as it is celebrating its 40^th Anniversary of continued service to the Shelton community this year with the theme “Growing Together”, encouraging residents and businesses to grow this flower in their gardens around the City.

It is the Club’s desire that you consider planting the Rudbeckia fulgida “Goldsturm’ as well as other native species of flowers, trees and shrubs in your own gardens this coming spring.

Rudbeckia fulgida “Goldsturm’ is a large, daisy-like flower named for its 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.

A contest will be held for those who plant the City Flower this spring and summer. Residents and Businesses are asked to take a photo of their Rudbeckia and submit it to CityFlower@OldeRiptonGardenClub.org.  Winners will be picked monthly and announced in the Shelton Herald.  A display of all the photos submitted will be displayed in the Fall (location to be announced).  Area businesses are being asked to donate prizes for the contest.

The Club will also offer the plant for sale at its May 14^th Annual Plant Sale, come rain or shine, at St. Paul’s Church parking lot across from the Huntington Green. All proceeds will go to the purchase of City Flowers that will be planted in the gardens maintained by the Club at many locations throughout Shelton including the Libraries, the Green, and the Community Center where the focus this summer will be on developing pollinator gardens in our community.

So join us and plant the City Flower in your garden and show the community you care about pollinators and support the Garden Club Anniversary by “Growing Together” with us this year.  

Every holiday season the Olde Ripton Garden Club members create wreaths and holiday decorations for 25 destinations around Shelton including City Hall, the Police Station, the Senior Center and 11 Schools.