Active in her beloved Red Mountain Garden Club from 1960 until 2012 when she exchanged her active membership for affiliate, Weesie was Red Mountain Garden Club’s horticultural heart for many, many years. Weesie would enthusiastically teach and guide members, new and old alike. Anyone with even the palest of green thumbs, who showed an interest in learning about propagating, growing, showing, Weesie was there to help. Her talents were acknowledged in many ways, and over the years she was the recipient of several GCA awards including the ones below.

The Eloise Payne Luque Horticulture Award in 1975
The Zone VIII Horticulture Award in 1975
The Catherine Beattie Medal in 1991, 1992, 1999 and 2007
The Sue Jenkins Kinnear Club Award in 1996
The Elizabeth Platt Corning Medal in 2000
The Laura Ann Segrest Mentoring Award in 2006

In 2014 Red Mountain Garden Club established Zone VIII's Weesie Smith Horticulture Award, in her honor.

Other than wife, mother, and Red Mountain member, her "Day-Job" and the fuel for her soul, was working with both local and national organizations that promoted gardening, conservation and the protection of the natural environment. Weesie was widely known and respected as an expert on local wildflowers and their cultivation. The American Horticultural Society profiled Weesie in their 2016 January/February issue of The American Gardener in a lovely article by Allen Bush.

The American Gardener, Jan/Feb 2016

In 2013, The Central South Native Plant Conference meeting at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, honored Weesie as the tireless champion that she was for her native, natural Alabama. The sheer magnitude of her contributions to Alabama’s "wildest places and the native plants and animals that dwell there" is nothing short of remarkable, even to those of us who were fortunate enough to know her well. We encourage everyone to read the articles linked below for a real appreciation of Weesie's life and gifts to her natural Alabama.

Tribute to Weesie-The Central South Native Plant Conference 2013
Weesie Smith: A Wilderness Champion
Wild South: Women of The Sipsey
Women of Sipsey Poster