The Caudatowa Garden Club is 80 years old this year, and the Ridgefield Garden Club hit the big 100. —Ann Dunnington photo
Beautiful, bountiful blooms, heirloom vegetable and flowering plants, annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, unique floral gifts, and more beckon when the 2014 Ballard Greenhouse Plant Sale continues its annual two-day run Saturday May 10.
The sale is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (rain or shine) at Ballard Greenhouse in Ridgefield. Master gardeners will also be on hand to field questions from buyers and browsers.
The sale is run by the Caudatowa and Ridgefield garden clubs, both celebrating milestone birthdays — 80 years for Caudatowa and 100 years for Ridgefield Garden Club. The clubs are closely related, as Caudatowa was formed, eight decades ago, by the daughters of RGC members, inspired to create their own club.
In addition to the quality and variety of plants and garden gifts that have made this annual event a regional draw — one that includes local specimens for sale from club members’ own gardens — this year’s plant sale is featuring heirloom vegetables and flowers, grown in the historic Ballard Greenhouse by club members, under the direction of Marie Hale, greenhouse manager.
“Many garden clubs have plant sales, but Ridgefield’s is unique, as it includes many plants grown from seed here in our own greenhouse,” Ms. Hale said.
People often don’t realize what a special place Ridgefield’s Ballard Greenhouse is,” said Ms. Hale, now in her 19th year as greenhouse manager.
The greenhouse was built on land originally owned by Revolutionary War leader Col. Burr Bradley in the 1700s. It was left to the town by Mrs. Elizabeth B. Ballard nearly two centuries later. Mrs. Ballard’s estate included the Lord & Burnham structure, aka Ballard Greenhouse.
“An architectural and historic treasure, the greenhouse has survived, thrived and served the town well,” Ms. Hale said, “because it has been kept in excellent condition — due in part to funds raised through the annual Ballard Greenhouse Plant Sale.”
The sale raises money not only for the greenhouse but for town beautification and civic projects as well — all while offering excellent and unique selections of plants for sale in the heart of the village.
Heirloom varieties
Greenhouse-grown heirloom vegetables and flowering plants include tomatoes, such as Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Rutgers, Black Krimm, and Bloody Butcher. Other heirloom vegetables include winter squashes, such as Rogue Vif D’Etampes, a French heirloom reddish pumpkin, excellent for both fall display and pies; Boston Marrow, whose seeds were given to early English settlers by Native Americans and which is famed for “unsurpassed sweetness and excellence”; Golden Hubbard, introduced in 1898, a sweet, high-quality prolific producer; and many more vegetables. In addition, heirloom seed-grown flowers are ideal for both cutting gardens and beds and borders.
New perennials
This year’s perennial debuts include ground cover Mukdenia ‘Karasuba,’ a compact plant with white bell-shaped flowers in spring; shade-loving Snakeroot Cimicifuga ‘Chocoholic,’ with showy bottlebrush flowers and burgundy-purple foliage; Sedum ‘Maestro,’ a large fall-blooming plant with blue-green foliage turning purplish, in vivid contrast to large pink flower heads; and foamflower hybrid Tiarella ‘Sugar and Spice,’ with delicate, fragrant, frosted pink flowers blooming in part sun to full shade.
Other standouts new to the plant sale include two Heuchera (coral bell) varieties: Cinnamon Curls, with white flowers setting off reddish foliage, and Blackberry Ice, whose yellowish flowers float above purple-lavender leaves; the reddish-pink blooms of Penstemon ‘Elfin Pink’; and a drought-tolerant, purplish-lavender candytuft, Iberis ‘Absolutely Amethyst.’
Ornamental edibles
To add flavor to your flower power, ‘Ornamental Edibles’ include Siam Basil, with striking dark purple flower spikes, as well as the purple hues of ‘Flagstaff’ Brussels Sprouts and Purple Orach; colorful, delicately flavored Rainbow Chard; Red, hot Jabanero peppers; and the silvery foliage of the architectural Cardoon.
For those who like to “drink in” their garden experience — literally — consider growing mini cucumbers for martinis; mint for mojitos; celery plants for Bloody Marys, and basil for Basil Gin Gimlets.
The Garden Shoppe
This year’s boutique has been creatively reimagined as The Garden Shoppe, with four tented areas: modern, featuring glass terrariums; vintage, offering cola crates filled with herbs, geraniums, and decorative vines, designed for deck or patio; classic, with its stunning flower and foliage gift baskets; and collector, displaying tea cup and vintage purse gardens. A children’s section allows kids to choose a color scheme and plant, creating their own gift basket for Mom.
Philanthropic mission
Garden club members coordinate many civic endeavors, some of which include planting the more than 100 hanging flower baskets on Main Street; design and maintenance of showcase gardens at Lounsbury House (by Caudatowa Garden Club) and Ballard Park (by Ridgefield Garden Club); interior holiday decorations at Lounsbury House and Keeler Tavern; gardens developed and maintained at numerous public sites throughout town; tree- and bulb-planting programs; public gardening lectures and workshops; scholarships in horticulture, conservation and ecology for graduating seniors; junior gardening programs for young children; garden therapy programs for seniors; donations to Meals on Wheels, Woodcock Nature Center, the Discovery Center, the Festival of Trees, the Founders Hall Wreath event, and more; maintenance of Ye Olde Burying Ground; in the past, for a quarter century, the planning and maintenance of Keeler Tavern Museum Garden by Caudatowa Garden Club; and much more.
For inquiries,email ballardplantsale@yahoo.com.