Dahlias

If you are interested in learning more about Dahlias, join us for our July meeting which will take place at 10 am, Monday, July 10, 2023 at the Shelton Community Center’s lower level, Suite 2.

Our speaker will be Kevin Wasilewski, President of the Connecticut Dahlia Society.  His presentation will be “Dahlias: Growing, Cultivating, Over Wintering and Dividing these Breathtaking Flowers.”

Founded in 1976, the Olde Ripton Garden Club (ORGC) of Shelton, Connecticut is a community of garden enthusiasts committed to sharing the love of gardening and conservation.  We provide education in horticulture and assist in beautifying the grounds around public buildings.

Meetings are held March through December (no meetings in January and February.)  They are on the first Monday of the month (except for holidays) and generally start at 10 a.m.

Dues are $35 per year, guests are welcome to attend, there is a $5 Visitor Fee for non-members.

Congratulations Joyce Donnelly

Club President Holly Secskas, Joyce Donnelly and past Club President Renee Marsh

At our June Luncheon we honored Joyce Donnelly with a Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut Life Membership.  This award is a special way to honor a worthy club member, for all she has done for her club and community, we recognized Joyce with a letter of congratulations, a Connecticut Life Member pin and a membership card signed by the Connecticut State President.

Making the presentation are Club President Holly Secskas and past Club President Renee Marsh

Over the 20 years she has been a member of the club, Joyce has served as an officer, chaired many committees and jumped in whenever something needed to be done.

Joyce served as President for 6 years (2006-2008, 2010-2014) and as Vice President for two years (2016-2018).

Renee Marsh and Joyce Donnelly at the 2016 Olde Ripton Garden Club Garden Tour

When the Olde Ripton Garden Club celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2016, Joyce wrote “A 40 Year History – Growing Together” to chronicle the efforts of the club. (a copy of which can be seen in the “About” tab on this website.)

She also helped establish the Shelton city flower, the Orange Coneflower,  (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’) and organized an anniversary garden tour.

There have been many changes in the club since Joyce joined including adjusting to new technologies and new ideas, Joyce embraced them all with grace and a fair amount of stoicism.

 

Our congratulations to Joyce for all of her years of service, Joyce has shown herself to be a valuable asset to the club.

 

June 2023 – Annual Club Luncheon

On Monday, June 5 we held our Annual Club Luncheon at ECCO Italian Tapas and Wine Bar in Trumbull.  Second Vice President Dee Blewett coordinated the luncheon.

 

At each table there were Golden Butterfly Daisies. At the end of the luncheon, Dee raffled off the Daisies and the lucky winners got to take one home.

 

 

Given to each attendee were Zinnias in clay pots, hand painted by Dee Blewett.

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Olde Ripton Garden Club Civic Gardens

Founded in 1976, the Olde Ripton Garden Club (ORGC) of Shelton, Connecticut is a community of garden enthusiasts committed to sharing the love of gardening and conservation.  We provide education in horticulture and assist in beautifying the grounds around public buildings.

Club members work hard every spring to bring beauty to public gardens around town, their hard work doesn’t stop there as members tend to the gardens all throughout the growing season.

Civic gardens include the Huntington Green, front entrance of the Shelton Community Center, Huntington Branch of the Shelton Post Office, Shelton High School, the Shelton Police Department, City Hall, Shelton Public Library and the Shelton Historical Society’s Herb Garden.

To view pictures of the gardens throughout the growing season select the above “Gallery” tab.

Meetings are held March through December (no meetings in January and February.)  They are on the first Monday of the month (except for holidays) and generally start at 10 a.m.

Dues are $35 per year, guests are welcome to attend, there is a $5 Visitor Fee for non-members.

Olde Ripton Garden Club’s Annual Plant Sale – May 13, 2023

On Saturday, May 13, 2023 Olde Ripton Garden Club held its annual Plant and Bake Sale.

Co-chairmen Lisa DiNardo and Debby Garrow

We had wonderful weather for the plant and bake sale, many thanks to Co-Chairmen Lisa DiNardo and Debby Garrow, along with the help of all the members of the garden club for making the plant sale a huge success.

Available for sale were annuals, perennials, herbs, spruce trees, baked goods and handmade crafts. Many items were raffled off and gift cards were available for sale.

Club Master Gardener Renee Marsh

 

Master Gardener Renee Marsh was there to answer questions regarding the care of plants.

Proceeds from the plant sale benefit community projects in Shelton.

 

 

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Olde Ripton Garden Club’s Annual Plant Sale – May 13, 2023

Join us Saturday, May 13, 2023 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, rain or shine, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church parking lot for our annual Plant Sale.  For sale will be member grown perennials, there will also be annuals, tomato plants and herbs.  In addition to our successful bake sale there will be various crafts and gift cards.

Proceeds from the plant sale benefit community projects in Shelton.  Founded in 1976, the Olde Ripton Garden Club (ORGC) of Shelton, Connecticut is a community of garden enthusiasts committed to sharing the love of gardening and conservation.  We provide education in horticulture and assist in beautifying the grounds around public buildings.

Meetings are held March through December (no meetings in January and February.)  They are on the first Monday of the month (except for holidays) and generally start at 10 a.m.

May Day and a Jane Austen Tea Party

May Day Horticulture Table with Bleeding Hearts and fragrant Daffodils

Linda Hooper, her hair adorned with flowers for May Day

Our Horticulture Table was adorned with fragrant spring blossoms.  May 1st is the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.  It is rich in history and folklore and was rooted in agriculture and astronomy.

Traditions include dancing around a May Pole with colorful ribbons, bonfires and collecting and wearing flowers in their hair.

Originally the May Pole was a tree and the ancient Celts danced around the tree praying for fertility of their crops. Continue reading

May 2023 – How to be a Lazy Gardener – or Working with Nature Instead of Against it

Karla A. Dalley

Our speaker this month was Karla A. Dalley, Karla is the garden columnist for the West Hartford Magazine and the Book Reviewer for the Connecticut Horticultural Society.  She is also the sole author of an organic gardening blog, “Gardendaze.”

We learned about organic gardening and how to start working with nature in our gardening.  We shouldn’t strive to have everything perfect, we should try to go organic, try to be garden friendly to wildlife, let the birds eat the bugs instead of using pesticides.

Remember that ants are pollinators, spiders consume many bugs in our gardens and native plants require less work. Continue reading

Coming up in May

Our May meeting will be held on Monday, May 1, 2023 at the Shelton Community Center located at 41 Church Street, Suite 2 (lower level.)

Our speaker will be Karla A Dalley who will speak about “How to be a Lazy Gardener – or working with nature instead of against it.”  Her presentation will incorporate elements of sustainable gardening, “leave the leaves” and other practices like “right plant – right place.”

Currently she is the garden columnist for the West Hartford Magazine and the book reviewer for the Connecticut Horticulture Society, as well as the sole author of an organic gardening blog, “Gardendaze.”

Founded in 1976, the Olde Ripton Garden Club (ORGC) of Shelton, Connecticut is a community of garden enthusiasts committed to sharing the love of gardening and conservation.  We provide education in horticulture and assist in beautifying the grounds around public buildings.

Meetings are held March through December (no meetings in January and February.)  They are on the first Monday of the month (except for holidays) and generally start at 10 a.m.

Dues are $35 per year, guests are welcome to attend, there is a $5 Visitor Fee for non-members.

Meetings may be cancelled due to inclement weather and road conditions.  Check our Facebook page for information.

 

 

Olde Ripton Garden’s Seed Library Opening Day

Seed Library Committee members l to r: Debbie Mica, J. Stapkowski, Joanne Brunelle and Chair Teya Bell, missing from the photo are Jan Gallagher and Sue Piscioniere

On Saturday, April 22, 2023 the Olde Ripton Garden Club’s Seed Library opened to the public.  The Seed Library is located on the second floor of the Plumb Memorial Library and will be open to residents of Shelton from April 22 until October 31, 2023 during the library’s regular business hours.

design by Teya Bell

A sincere thank you for donations made by the following:

UConn Master Gardener Program

The Friends of Shelton Libraries

Benedict’s Home & Garden

Filanowski Farms

Plumb Memorial Library

and

The Olde Ripton Garden Club

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Earth Day 2023 – Invest in Our Planet

Earth Day is an annual event held every year on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. The official theme for 2023 is “Invest In Our Planet.”

Follow the link above to visit the official Earth Day website and see how you can help.

April 2023 – Drop to Drain – Water Conservation During Climate Change

George S. Logan and Club Vice-President Ruth Pesavento

For our April meeting we welcomed George S. Logan whose presentation was “Drop to Drain – Water Conservation during Climate Change.”  George is the Director of Community Relations at Aquarion Water Company.

George gave a very informative presentation in which we learned about the years that Connecticut suffered severe drought.  During these periods we learned how water was managed by the Aquarion Water Company.

During the presentation, George took time to answer questions from the members regarding where the water in Trap Falls Reservoir originates from, how many other reservoirs Aquarion Water Company manages, how the water is filtered and ways that we can conserve water.

Hummingbirds 2023

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is eastern North America’s sole breeding hummingbird.  Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds.

Around the middle of April we will be seeing the first hummingbirds arriving in Connecticut.  After their long voyage they are hungry and will be looking for food to regain their weight.

Take the time to make sure before you put your feeders out that they are well cleaned.  Because hummingbirds are very territorial about their feeders it is a good idea to put out more than one around your yard.

A simple recipe for Hummingbird food is 1 cup of cane sugar mixed with 4 cups of hot/boiling water, remember to cool the water before filling your feeders.  It is important to remember that you only use cane sugar since other sugars are not safe for Hummingbirds.  Change the water before it grows cloudy or discolored and remember that during hot weather, sugar water ferments rapidly to produce toxic alcohol.

Brightly-colored flowers that are tubular hold the most nectar, and are particularly attractive to hummingbirds. These include perennials such as bee balms, columbines, daylilies, and lupines; biennials such as foxgloves and hollyhocks; and many annuals, including cleomes, impatiens, and petunias.