As the Coupeville Garden Club’s monthly meeting wound down and the club president asked if there were volunteers to provide refreshments at a future party, Russell Johnson tried to resist another joke but couldn’t.

Johnson has attended these monthly meetings for more than a decade and has found a table at the back of the Coupeville Recreation Hall suitable for the constant ribbing that takes place among the male members of the club.

His wife also was in attendance but knew better than to sit near him or his sidekick John Bachert at these occasions.

“John will volunteer,” Johnson said in a voice too soft for club president Virginia Brown to hear.

“He makes a really good stir fry. The wife can’t stand it. The dog is dead…”

Johnson is clearly amused, but Bachert would get his revenge. Not long after, he stood and spoke loudly, volunteering Johnson, a retired contractor, to tackle a trellis-building project.

This time, everyone heard, the room burst into laughter and Johnson was left smiling and perhaps pondering his next move.

The over-riding reason why Johnson, Bachert and most others are part of this Central Whidbey gathering is to do their part to beautify their community.

But nobody said they couldn’t have a little fun while accomplishing such good deeds.

“We’re sort of like the bad guys the teacher puts at the back of the room,” Johnson joked.

Membership in a garden club on Whidbey Island often involves much more than sharing gardening expertise.

(Below: Retired contractor Russell Johnson, right, jokes that his wife won’t sit next to him at club meetings due to his behavior.)

It’s often about sharing friendship, Brown said.

Once a month, a fair chunk of the 65 mostly–retired members of the Coupeville Garden Club meet at the Rec Hall to talk about club projects, listen to a speaker and get updated on other club business.

But it’s also a social gathering where members catch up over homemade desserts, meats and cheeses, coffee and other refreshments brought on a particular day.

Several members meet weekly at the club’s greenhouse to get their hands dirty.

Social interaction with each other and with the public is part of the club’s mission.

“People here are really fun people,” Brown said. “We learn a little bit about the different aspects of gardening. We do a lot of community service.”

The depth of community involvement with both nonprofit garden clubs in North and Central Whidbey is long and storied.

The Oak Harbor Garden Club has been around for 91 years and prides itself on beautifying the grounds in several small public areas around the city as well as involvement with many other community-enriching projects.

The Coupeville Garden Club, which started in 1961, is equally as dedicated to the tending of its historic town in colorful, well-manicured ways.

The Coupeville club takes care of the grounds at the Rec Hall, Cook’s Corner Park, Coupe’s Park and around the town’s welcome sign at State Highway 20 and North Main Street.

The barrels that are seen throughout Coupeville are planted and maintained by the Coupeville Garden Club.

“Oh, boy, they are the best,” Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard said. “They have landscaped so many things. Not all garden clubs are the kind of ‘hands-on’ club that they are.

“I would say we have a lot of Kodak moments as a result of them.”

Members range from people with master gardener expertise to those who have little gardening experience at all but would like to gain more knowledge.

“I think some people join just so they can learn a little bit,” Brown said. “Some people are from other parts of the country. Gardening in the Northwest is different.”

Membership has its privileges.

Sometimes, a garden club will be invited to visit a grand garden at a private residence on the island.

Also, gardeners tend to be a sharing sort, dividing plants to offer to one another.

Sometimes, the good will might involve a little heavy lifting.

“Very few garden clubs have the men we have,” said Joan Wortman, member of the Coupeville club. “They do the legwork and provide us with sanity most of the time.”

Of the more-than-100 members in the Oak Harbor Garden Club, none of them are men; however, that can be a little misleading, said Helene Valdez, club vice president.

“We’ve always had a few men. They come and they go,” Valdez said. “Our husbands are practically members. They do a lot of stuff for us.”

Like Coupeville, Oak Harbor’s club doesn’t lack in the fun department. The social aspect of the club is part of the fabric.

“That is a big draw, I think, for this garden club,” Valdez said. “We have a good time.”

Oak Harbor’s club also gets busy, providing perpetual care of Hal Ramaley Memorial Park, Flintstone Park and other maintenance and continued projects, often in partnership with the City of Oak Harbor.

Both the Coupeville and Oak Harbor clubs also get involved with schools and teach youth.

The Coupeville Garden Club built a large greenhouse next to the high school that is shared by students and club members.

Work is already underway to prepare for the annual plant sale, the club’s major fundraiser, which will take place April 25 at the Coupeville Rec Hall.

The Oak Harbor Garden Club draws funding from its annual plant sale in May, Christmas wreath sales in the winter and through a Garden Tour and Tea in June.

The Oak Harbor plant sale, which also will include garden art, will be May 16 at 1654 Swantown Road in Oak Harbor.

Oak Harbor also holds monthly meetings the second Tuesday of each month at the First United Methodist Church on Ireland Street.

At the Coupeville club’s most recent meeting this week, 34 members showed up to listen to a presentation on hydrangea care by Nancy Lane.

Lane shared that she often waits until Presidents Day weekend in February to prune her hydrangeas so she doesn’t have to prune twice a year.

She warned against cutting lower than last year’s growth with most varieties because that will result in no blooms this year.

She said most varieties need lots of sun on Whidbey because of the island’s moderate temperatures.

“Hydrangeas love it here,” she said. “They’re a very good coastal plant. They’ll stand up to salt spray.”

How to join

Coupeville Garden Club membership costs $15 annually. The fee is waved for members 80 and older. Those interested are asked to attend a monthly meeting, which begin at 9:30 a.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Coupeville Recreation Hall. For more information, go to www.coupevillegardenclub.org

Oak Harbor Garden Club membership is $22 annually. Those interested should attend a monthly meeting, which are from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month. The meetings are held in Centennial Hall at the First United Methodist Church, 1050 SE Ireland St., Oak Harbor.