MARION — A few days ago, Marion Garden Group members were wearing winter coats and battling a biting wind.

But the morning of their bi-annual plant sale on Saturday May 14 at Bicentennial Park brought sunny skies, warm weather and enthusiastic green thumbs looking to augment their gardens with locally grown plants.

The cold spring limited the numbers of plants that the garden group members could grow for the sale, according to Marion Garden Group president Liz Hatch. But what the sale lacked in quantity, she noted, was replaced by variety.

Plants on sale included more offbeat varieties such as crocosmia and clivia, which she described as a “real gardener’s plant.’’

About half the inventory was sold within the first half hour, Hatch noted. 

“This sale is more about a community service’’ than a significant fund-raiser, she said. Exotics that might sell for $25 to $30 at commercial establishments, Hatch said, went for $5 each, and sometimes two for $5. 

Free tulip trees were also distributed and information was provided on how to avoid ticks. 

The nearby origins of the plants and the opportunity to buy local drew many of the customers. 

“The plants here are always so lush, so healthy,’’ said Carolyn Kinney. She said she appreciated that her purchases can be immediately planted and will be successful additions to her greenery.

In previous years, Marion resident Rebecca Johnson said, she has had great luck with tomato plantings from the sale. “They were the best I’ve ever had,’’ she said, as she perused this year’s selection and hoped to repeat her success.

“I’m always looking for plants for my yard,’’ Robin Schmidt of Acushnet said.

Hatch and her fellow Garden Group members start growing plants as early as March.

“It’s a labor of love,’’ she said.