As the growing season ends and nature prepares for autumn, the Jamestown Garden Club is helping one particular garden get ready for the next season.

On Wednesday morning, the club members met at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History to tidy up the Butterfly Garden as they have done for many years. Several members donned work gloves, rubber boots and other gardening tools to pull weeds, cut back certain plants and generally make the garden a bit more presentable.

Linda Yates, club president, said the members visit the garden each spring and fall.

“We plant and we clean up, and we do maintenance. My goal is to keep everything as natural as possible,” Yates said. “The annuals are new plants and they need watering, but if you have all perennial, it eliminates a lot of work.”

She said the club affectionately called the garden the Eleanor’s Sanctuary because former member Eleanor Sanctuary helped coordinate the garden. Sanctuary also secured the help of Virginia Marie Peterson, a garden planter and butterfly expert. The garden was installed in 1994, and the garden club has helped maintain it ever since.

“It’s just something we can sort of do for the community,” Yates said.

Several members worked in the garden, had a luncheon together and held a club meeting.

Jane Johnson, Roger Tory Peterson Institute exhibits and public programs coordinator, said the institute is thrilled with the efforts of the Jamestown Garden Club.

“They’ve become a part of RTPI now. We always look forward to seeing them come,” Johnson said. “They’re really part of the RTPI family of volunteers.”

She said the garden will be a welcoming sight for those who attend their opening reception for their new exhibit, “Rainforest Adventure” featuring works by Jan Lutz. The reception is being held Friday from 6-8 p.m. and is free to the public.

The Jamestown Garden Club is a member of the Federated Garden Clubs of New York, which is a member of National Garden Clubs Inc. The club was founded in 1933 by Thomas Edison’s wife, Mina Miller Edison, and is celebrating its 83rd anniversary.