Coupeville Garden Club members have been working since the dark days of January to get ready for their big annual plant sale April 26-27.

Two years ago club members, largely using found materials, built a 27X48 foot greenhouse behind the middle school that they share with the school’s science students. In January the pots were bare, but club members started propagating and seed planting, according to Peggy Burton, plant sale director. “It was very cold and dark because we have no light — just sunlight,” she said.

All the early work paid off handsomely, however. By early April the greenhouse was a miniature garden of Eden, with plants of all kinds profusely producing leaves and flowers.

“This is spectacular,” said Rod Grant, club secretary. “Things are growing so good in here we’re trying to slow’em down.”

To do that, Gordon Burton, greenhouse manager, simply turned on the ingenious system of fans and vents he created to keep the temperature down. Even in April the fans are needed with the sun beating through the greenhouse walls.

The greenhouse’s small heating system is set to keep the environment at a minimum of 40 degrees. The sun produces the warmer temperatures, and Burton’s fans keep the heat under control. An automatic watering system keeps the plants moist. The result is an ideal growing environment that garden club members and students alike enjoy.

Science teacher Terry Welch brings her students into the greenhouse, where the club members help them grow beautiful things. “They grow tulips and daffodils and experiment with different rooting compounds,” said Gordon. “They have a ball.”

This month the club’s focus is on the plant sale, which is their big fund-raiser of the year. It produces revenue that the club uses to beautify the parks, public art and welcome signs, and maintain the greenhouse and some 80 flower barrels around town. Anyone who enjoys Coupeville’s beauty will want to support the plant sale. “All the dollars go back to the community,” said Grant. Some funds are used for scholarships.

The plant sale is a highly affordable family affair. Kids can buy plants for a quarter, while most of the rest go for five dollars or less. The exception is the hanging baskets which will sell for $15.

A quick tour of the greenhouse led by Faye Gordon gives one a taste of the amazing variety of plants grown there. “We have Territorial Seed tomatoes guaranteed to produce tomatoes in this climate, this year,” she said. There are geraniums, herbs, begonias, snap dragons, stock (an African daisy), Viscaria, Nemesia, marigolds, painted daisies, Hosta and monkey flowers, to name a few, plus a wide variety of garden vegetables ready to put in the ground.

“And that’s just inside,” Faye Gordon said. Surrounding the greenhouse are potted plants that garden club members grew at home, and more will be brought in before the April 26-27 sale, which will be held at the town’s Recreation Hall.

“It’s a lot of stuff,” said Gordon Burton, summarizing the plants available at this year’s sale. For the island’s gardeners, that’s great news.

Where the

plants are

Coupeville Garden Club Plant Sale

When: Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, April 27, from noon to 4 p.m.

Where: Coupeville Recreation Hall on Coveland Street.

What’s available: Over 4,000 plants in 125 varieties, including perennials, biennials, roses, annuals, herbs and evergreens, among others.