The members of the Olde Ripton Garden Club wish everyone a safe, healthy, happy holiday season.

Wreath at the Shelton Senior Center

Some of the holiday decorations created by the members of the Olde Ripton Garden Club.

For three weeks each winter, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Osborne Homestead Museum is transformed into a holiday showcase.

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.

Every December for more than 30 years, local garden clubs have prepared lavish holiday decorations following an annually chosen theme.  The theme for the 2022 Holiday Season is “A Holiday Feast.”  The Olde Ripton Garden Club decorated the Milk Room, Porch and Ice Box Pantry in the spirit of “Puerto Rico.” Continue reading →

Debbie Mica and Michelle Ieronimo

Wreaths are a favorite Holiday decoration and are rich with history and symbolism.  Every December the Olde Ripton Garden Club works on decorating wreaths for civic gardens, schools, and other locations throughout the community. Continue reading →

For our November meeting Linda Hooper presented a “Wreath Bow Tutorial.”  After demonstrating the art of making the perfect bow, Linda helped members create their own unique bows.

Every December Olde Ripton Garden Club has a wreath-making workshop to prepare wreaths for the community.  This year we have made the bows ahead of time to allow for more time decorating the wreaths in December.

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For our October meeting we had a demonstration of the art of creating a “Fantasy Pumpkin.”

With her many crafting skills, club member Linda Hooper showed us how to take a plain pumpkin, real or artificial, and turn it into a holiday centerpiece.

Using moss, various sized succulents and interesting leaves and greens she created before us a “Fantasy Pumpkin.” Continue reading →

At our meeting this month club member Martha Nosal organized a flower arranging workshop.

Martha provided a large assortment of fresh flowers and greens to choose from.  Members also brought flowers from their own gardens.

Members made their arrangements following their own individual styles.  As the morning rolled on, every arrangement became a one-of-a-kind work of art with flowers used in endless combinations.  Throughout the room, some worked individually while others worked in groups, lending their tools, materials, advice, and compliments.

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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.

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

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

At our August meeting, Theresa Gallagher, Nature Resource Officer from the City of Shelton, representing Mayor Mark A. Lauretti, presented the club with the “Clean Sweep 2022 Volunteer of the Year” award for the work done cleaning up the Huntington Green and Ripton Road.

Club member Teya Bell with the help of club President Holly Secskas and Renee Marsh along with the City of Shelton and the Conservation Department coordinated a clean-up on Saturday, April 23, 2022 of the Huntington Green and Ripton Road to the Shelton History Center.

Members pitched in to help collect trash left on the Huntington Green and along Ripton Road.

Clean Sweep was held in conjunction with Earth Day 2022.

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, February 11, 2016.

The Olde Ripton Garden Club of Shelton requested the designation as it celebrated in 2016 its 40th Anniversary of continued service to the Shelton community.

Rudbeckia fulgida “Goldsturm’ is a large, daisy-like flower named for its orange-tinged petals and was chosen as the city’s flower 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.

Plant the City Flower in your garden and show the community you care about pollinators.

This month we welcomed Dr. Yonghao Li from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) in New Haven.  Dr. Li is a plant pathologist and has more than 30 years of experience in gardening, disease diagnostics, and pest management.

Dr. Li spoke about the difference between conventional and native landscapes, his Power Point presentation can be found at the following link:   Gardening with Native Plants

For our field trip this year we visited Boothe Memorial Park and Museum in Stratford.

Boothe Memorial Park and Museum sits on an idyllic, 32 acre site in the north end of Stratford high above the Housatonic River.  It was the estate of the Boothe family for many generations and willed to the town in 1949 for the public to enjoy.

The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Lisa DiNardo and Pat Robik. Our thanks to Lisa for planning the trip.

The Friends of Boothe Park is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization formed in 1984 with the mission of providing information and preserving the heritage of the park and its museums, buildings and grounds.  Each year Friends contribute over 6,000 fun-filled hours conducting school programs and guided tours, maintaining gardens, grounds and buildings.

All the above information taken from the Boothe Memorial Park and Museum website.

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This month Linda Hooper gave a presentation about “The Wonderful Comfrey,” Symphytum.

Symphytum is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae and is native to Europe and Asia.

In Latin it means to “grow together” and has also been known as Knitbone.  Historically it was used as a medicinal herb, known to help knit broken bones. Continue reading →

This month we welcomed Barbara and Peter Rzasa, who shared with us a Power Point presentation of “Summer Wildflowers of Connecticut.”

Summer wildflowers are found in Connecticut’s forests, wetlands and fields, compared to spring flowers, which are light pastel colors, summer flowers are vibrant.

Continue reading →