On an early February morning, activity is abuzz at the monthly meeting of the Greenbank Garden Club.

In the dead of winter, the club is wide awake. More than 50 members cram into the Greenbank Progressive Clubhouse to conduct club business, listen to an insect expert, catch up with each other, sip coffee, snack and start planning for another fruitful year.

Fun, of course, is interjected into the meeting agenda with members praising each other for floral arrangements they created. Another brings in branches of a willow tree to examine with the buds already appearing.

“You know it’s still officially winter,” Susan Keppler said to the group, “and look what’s growing in our yards.”

With 21 new members since summer, the Greenbank Garden Club is blossoming with 95 members.

The club is rooted in volunteer service from tending the grounds at the Greenbank Farm and the Progressive Clubhouse to taking special care of the Secret Garden at Meerkerk Gardens, among other community projects.

“We’re a community group,” said Linda Wells, club vice president. “Our goal is to give people the tools that they need to improve the environment in the community. But it’s fun, too.”

The Greenbank Garden Club, around since 1949, is about “stimulating interest in beautifying the community’s surroundings,” according to its mission statement.

It does so by “studying all aspects of gardening, promoting the conservation of native plants and wildlife and maintaining public garden spaces within the community.”

Members are bonded by a common passion for gardening and a hunger to learn more from each other.

Sharing expertise, tips, even plants, is commonplace.

“It’s a wonderful group of women,” said Carla Bishop. “They have a wealth of knowledge and a sense of humor.

“You get a sense of belonging.”

The club is eager to learn and teach. Some members help with Botany Adventure, a science program for elementary school kids that takes place every spring at Meerkerk Gardens.

“It’s so gratifying to see the little kids,” Nancy Watt said. “Most of them don’t know what a rhododendron is. Some come with blank pages and leave excited about plants.”

The club’s monthly meetings are filled with learning opportunities. The guest speakers are often from Whidbey Island and often involve an expert on one topic or another. February’s guest, retired college professor Joseph Sheldon, spoke for an hour about the decline of native pollinators such as bumblebees and butterflies and what every gardener can do to attract them. He also talked about the prairie restoration efforts going on at the Pacific Rim Institute of Environment Learning in Coupeville, where he taught and is still actively involved.

“It give us something to think about,” Joan Wimmer said. “We need bees. We have fruit trees up here. They don’t pollinate well. We need to do more.”

The club’s annual plant sale at Greenbank Farm in April is its biggest fundraiser. Club members donate their own plants and services for the sale, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 16.

The majority of the plants will range between $1 and $5 apiece.

“Not only is it helping the garden club, it’s going to grow in your yard, too, because it’s locally grown,” Keppler said.

To inquire about the Greenbank Garden Club, send an email to: greenbankgardenclub@gmail.com