My memory of long-ago events is a bit hazy, but here's what I remember.
I needed to
1) Attend their Sunday afternoon meetings regularly,
2) Sit on one of the back rows,
3) Listen to carefully what they wanted to do and take notes,
4) Put their plans into execution at an early date.
At first I couldn't have described the difference between Confederate Jasmine and a Cherokee Rose, but I tried to learn. After a while I began sharing what I could determine about what plants were introduced to homes like this one, built in central Alabama during the 1830s. For example, I found an excellent description written by a granddaughter of the original owner who lived in the house after the Civil War.
Some ladies were interested, but the chairman clearly was not. The house was going to look like Bellengrath Gardens or she would explode.
Guess what happened.
If I would just learn to sit quietly in the back row and say nothing, life would be so much better for other people.