MarianT
Yes, you are right the Garden Gnomes members fish and look for frogs. Now that you mention it, I remember the members going fishing. Lucus, the child in the club followed them and cast his line.
As for the cuttings, it is for grafting. For the microscope, I thought you needed to collect microscopic samples. Generally they are in the Sims'inventory. My Sims took cutting from other places and they were in its inventory.
I noticed odds little things during game play such as the eternal weird cleaning the dirty dishes (pick dirty dishes, sit down, go wash dishes). Now, my Sims goes and sit in the bathtub, gets up and clean the dishes. And yet not all Sims do it. It has already been reported as a bug with EA.
Another: my Sims was sad, but could not call the Sadness line because the option was not there. At another time the option was there.
Or my Sims had a boy, and aged up to be a girl. I use cheat because I really wanted a boy. This one could have been my bad. I am sure it said a boy at birth as I was stuffing the mother apples. What!! Apples??? It is carrots Mack carrots not apples!!! OMG At 2 a.m. it is sometimes hard to keep track of all the details.
As with any addition to the game, I am assuming these are glitz and with time will be iron out. They do not affect your game to the point of madness/frustration. Actually, I am pleasantly surprised with the clubs. Like the activities at the pubs, the special nights (bear, ghost etc...). Many actions are done automatically by the members while your Sims gains skills etc.. If you just watch what they do, it is funny and entertaining. It is not only about partying.