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.  Continue reading →

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 white opera mask 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 2017 scheme, “Holiday at the Opera,” had participants leveraging thematic elements from well-known operas, such as Faust, Aida, and The Magic Flute.  The Olde Ripton Garden Club (ORGC) decorated the dining room in the spirit of La Traviata. Continue reading →

Every November, TEAM’s Festival of Trees and Wesley Village Holiday Market showcase trees decorated by community volunteer groups.  The trees are raffled, with the drawing held on the final day.  This year, ORGC donated a tree decorated by club member Dot Hitchcock. Continue reading →

The Shelton Plumb Memorial Library, a picturesque 1895 brownstone and outstanding example of Romanesque architecture, features a beautiful atrium in its historic section.  This vestibule has a brick fireplace and cathedral ceiling.  ORGC and Plumb Memorial staff took advantage of this ideal setting to feature a Christmas tree. Continue reading →

With garden beds fertilized and put to rest for the winter, only care of tender perennial bulbs remains.  Once these are either mulched or removed and bagged, we turn our attention to what may be long-neglected friends — our house plants!  For the November meeting, we focused on indoor plants and bulb preparation. Continue reading →

October has arrived, and fall is in full swing!  With pumpkins, gourds, cabbage, mums, and asters, options abound for garden-inspired decorating.  This month’s meeting was a fall container workshop, presented by ORGC President, Renee Protomastro. Continue reading →

September marks the end of vacations and start of school, the shortening of days, and cooler weather.  It’s an important month for gardeners, as we begin the last harvest of vegetables and herbs and start preparing beds for winter.  This month, we were joined by horticulturalist Cathy Beauregard for her program, “The Autumn Lullaby.” Continue reading →

As August rolls around, the fine cultivars in our gardens are reaching and finishing the peak of their bloom.  For native wildflowers, however, late summer is still an active time, as meadows and roadsides are ablaze with their colors.  At our August 7, 2017 meeting, we welcomed Jude Hsiang, Master Gardener and member of the Bethany Garden Club.  She shared with us her slide presentation of Summer Wildflowers of Connecticut. Continue reading →

At our July 20, 2017 meeting, the featured speaker was Dr. Yonghao Li of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, Connecticut.  Dr. Li presented a slide show featuring Spring and Summer Gardening Tips. Continue reading →

On Monday, June 19, 2017, the Olde Ripton Garden Club went on a field trip to Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center in Westport, Connecticut. Continue reading →

Over the weekend of June 10th, students from the Gardening Enrichment Program at Shelton Intermediate School undertook a significant project to install a new pollinator garden at the back entrance of the school.  Members of the community, ORGC, and local Boy Scouts turned out to help.  Continue reading →

Each year in June, we take a break from regular business duties and gardening work to gather as friends for good food and conversation.  For the 2017 annual luncheon, we met at Vazzy’s Cucina in Shelton.  Continue reading →

On Saturday, May 20th, we hosted our annual Perennial & Garden Plant Sale at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on the Huntington Green in Shelton.  It’s a highlight of our year, when members donate cultivars from their own gardens for sale.  This year’s event once again featured some of our favorite features. Continue reading →