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w B O T A N IC G A R D E NW inter Is SubtleO fficeBY FRED RICHMONDAs new councilman from the 18th District, which runs along the Brooklyn waterfront from Greenpoint to Brooklyn Heights, I hope to begin a regular PHOENIX column devoted entirely to the City Council and what is going on at City Hall.I have just set up my councilman office at 147 Montague St., phone 522-7121. The office will be open on weekdays from 9 to 5 and until 9 p.m. on Wednesdays. Other community offices will open soon in Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Fort Greene.As I see it, the job of a councilman is to improve the daily lives of his constituents. He must see that they receive their fair share of city services and fight for new legislation to protect their interests.N o w O penCouncilman RichmondIn addition, a councilman must encourage citizens to participate in the decision-making process of their elected officials. For this reason I am setting up a Councilman Advisory Committee that will meet with me on a regular, informal basis to discuss the real needs of our communities, neighborhoods and block associations. The Advisory Committee is open to all of the residents of the district. Anyone wishing to participate is urged to call my district office at 522-7121.I hope to be hearing from you, and working with you in the coming months.Mr. Richmond was recently appointed to fill the unexpired councilman term of Leonard Scholnick who resigned January 1 to become a State Supreme Court Justice.The Peter PrincipleBY PETER J. ROBERTSThe idea of going to a plant show filled me with as much excitement as would the Greater Albany Seminar on Snow Removal. But in the case of the First Annual Plant Show and Sale held by the Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environment Development, I could hardly avoid it. My office, devoid of vegetation and greenery, stood as a monument of opposition to the Show and Sale directly across Flatbush Ave.I like to think of myself as being a champion of ecology. But like so many recent converts to the cause,I believed in Bigness. I stood by the oceans, forests, rivers, and of course, the atmosphere, in their fight for survival. They are huge things, too large to hold in on%u2019s hand, and thereby, easy to put into general term s of devotion. I reasoned that as long as the forest was OK, a tree or two didn%u2019t matter much, and plants never entered into my thoughts about the ecology of the earth. I have since learned my lesson.There were two reasons for my lack of interest in the Show and Sale. First, my knowledge of things green extended only as far as being able to identify with some certainty, poison ivy. In one enlightening summer I had a close association with a vast array of oils, lotions, and medical reliefs designed to deter the ills of which the plant is famous. After a long session of experimentation, I surmised the exact cause of my predicament and have since managed to avoid the plant with considerable success. But as we all know, poison ivy does not a garden make.The second reason for my being apprehensive about the Show was the notions I had about the kinds of people involved with such things. I had believed that the care of vegetation in and around the home was confined to silver-haired, teadrinking, little old ladies. Did not everyone%u2019s grandmother have plants around the house? Were not those plants the quiet reminder of a simpler time when young lovers strolled in the garden and whispered sweet nothings next to the rhododendron? Was it not true that every grandmother had a green thumb if not a green arm7 I didn%u2019t have anything against little old ladies, and certainly nothing at all against grandmothers; it was that l thought that it would be better to leave the senior set aloneand cultivate my own garden, as it were.But before the Show opened a crack appeared in my theory on the sociology of vegetation. I rented a home to a young lady who mentioned that she needed room for some plants. What %u201csome plants%u201d turned out to be was a collection of plant life that would rival the most elaborate Tarzan movie set. Her landlords, who were definitely not in the grandmagrandpa set, also had numerous plants and plans for more in the spring. I knew, however, that sociology was not an exact science and I made allowance for their fondness of things green as being an exception to the rule and not a fact that would upset my theory.My shock upon entering the show was most profound. Not one genuine little old lady was to be found in the place and this haven of plant life on Flatbush Ave. where I expected to find peace and quiet, resembled more the Christmas sale at E. J. Korvette. The beautiful people of Park Slope were there; young housewives, younger college students, and not a few business men of the banking and stock broker variety. It was I who was out of place.Being an impulse buyer from way back, I decided that I too would join in the %u201cgreen rush.%u201d I have always had the distinctly American knack of being able to create the need for something once I know that others want it also. I call it the %u201cbe the first one on your block%u201d syndrome and I know now that its sociological basis is much stronger than my theory on plants and grandmothers.I soon found the plant of my dreams. It was to my mind, a small bush. I was soon told however, that it was a %u201ctree%u201d and that its price was $175.00. With that revelation, I moved on to other plants and left the %u201cbush%u201d that was a %u201ctree%u201d or the %u201ctree%u201d that was a %u201cbush%u201d for those vyho did not have to worry about my trivial concerns like eating or paying the rent.1 began my search anew when the invasion started. It was a school day and this sort of thing was of great interest for inquiring young minds. But the throng that enveloped the former car showroom was more like the Long March in China than an outing of school children. Half the kids in Brooklyn were in the place, and it seemed iike uie other naif were outside waiting to get in. Before Icould beat a hasty retreat, I was bombarded with questions concerning the care for some of the plants as I appeared to them as one who would know about such things. Not wanting to disappoint these that were so young, I suggested sunlight and water. Hearing this they moved on to others with more knowledge than myself and I went out the door to find peace in the traffic on the avenue, plantless and with a bruised ego. I decided that I would make a purchase, but it would be both inexpensive and after school.The following day I passed by the bank loan section with its $175.00 Tree-bush, and looked into some economy models. It was there that I found a plant selling for about $10. and a fanatical plant nut. The young lady told me everything there was to know about said plant in a lecture of considerable duration. I told my mentor that while I was sure that she would have no trouble in caring for the plant, I was not as well versed when it came to fertilizer, weeding, transplanting and the sort. What I needed was a plant that would, more or less, take care of itself. She then pointed me to another direction where there were plants more suited to my meager energies and talents. It was at this low end of the plant spectrum that I meet Charles. Charles is the plant I bought for the grand sum of a buck seventy-five.I was told by the salesman that Charles needed little sunlight or water, no fertilizer or anything else of extravagance. I was immediately impressed by this no nonsense plant that would thrive even under my less than dedicated stuardship. He was duly placed in a brown paper bag and left with me for his new home across the street. He now sits in the office window and is the delight of everyone. As he is the only plant in the office, he sometimes suffers the abuse of being too loved, for everyone feels compelled to water and care for him, which means that often he gets an over-dose of H20.Charles and I would like to express our tnanxs to tne people at the Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environment Development for bringing the two of us together. The Sale and Show was of great worth, even for someone like myself who knows but Charles and poison ivy, and one hopes that it shall be followed by a long string of enterprises that will help bring about the greening of Brooklyn.Winter in the Botanic Garden is a time of subtle, unhurried beauty. Despite the short days and cold nights, the weather is often pleasant enough to make visits in the offseason as rewarding and enjoyable as in the hustle-bustle days of spring. One can see the backbone of the natural world now. Sinewy trunks of old hornbeams, golden-larch%u2019s stubby twigs silhouetted by an azure sky, intricately carved seed pods of sweetgum %u2014 these are some of the quiet joys of winter.Contrast in texture dominates the winter garden, but there is color too, a surprising amount of it now that the memory of last summer%u2019s brilliant annuals has faded. True, the soft browns and grays are the most common, but the red fruits of linden viburnum, glossy hawthorn and English holly have a longer-lasting charm than any scarlet salvia.Winter robins, cardinals and an occasional mockingbird forage near the sculptured branches of aged crab apples for remnant harvest of garnet to gold bounty, and squirrels hustle to and fro with hybrid acorns of deepest russet. Rabbits timidly test the sweet green shoots of cytisus and kerria. Purple- and white-beaded callicarpas, coralberry, orange bittersweets and euonymus, and %u2019 ink-black phellodendron fruits help round out the spectrum.Let us not forget the evergreens either. Tufted with snow after a January storm, they give a warmth to the winter landscape that belies the thermometer. Lofty pines from other lands, as weli as hemlocks and cedars, areespecially welcome friends now.There is much to be seen in the conservatories at this time of year, too. The poinsettia display during the holidays and the bulb plantings in the latter part of winter, as well as the Easter lilies, atrract visitors who are restless for milder days. The foliage of tropical plants, the infinite variety of the cactus world, the tree-clinging bromeliads and, of course, the bonsai collection give spiritual promise of a new season to come. If yoif live in New York or plan to visit the city this winter, please consider this a cordial invitation to see the special beauties of the Botanic Garden during this fourth season of the year.Winter hours: grounds open weekdays, 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM; weekends and holidays, 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Conservatories: weekdays, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM;weekends, 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM.As this Newsletter goes to press the late autumn sun is shining on the Botanic Garden and showing up the lingering foliage tints. We look back on a summer of great activity in Brooklyn and at all three Outreach Stations, and look forward to plans for new projects in education and research. Meanwhile the plants are being tended in this living museum and we trust that our grounds and greenhouses will continue to be a source of pleasure to all who visit them.Elizabeth Scholtz Acting DirectorReprinted from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Newsletter.GOOD LUCKBROOKLYNTHE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING!The Scrabble Crossword GameTournament comes to BrooklynMarch 18.At last, a chance to determine the trueScrabble Crossword Game Champ ofgreater Brooklyn!We ll be battling it out every Sunday fromMarch 18 through the end of April at theBrooklyn War Memorial Recreation Center.The tournament is sponsored by theScrabble Crossword Game Players Inc. andthe Department of Recreation of the NewYork City Parks AdministrationAll you have to do to.get into the fun is be16 or older and prove you live in Brooklyn.So fill out an entry blank. We ll send you thetournament rules, a map, and the time andday you'll compete.The five competitors with the highestscores from each match will meet for theFinals on Sunday, April 22. Prizes will beawarded to all semi-finalists and, of course,to the Champion.IIi%u25a0iiiiiI mName__AddressCity-------Telephone [hom e].(work)_. State. .Zip.Age 16-20 21-35 36-45 46-60 Over 60Circle age group abovegw Mail To Mr. Louis BrodyBorough S upervisor^ Recreation ip fp p ' Litchfield Mansion\Prospect Park West and 5th Street PRCA Brooklyn, New York 11215IIIIiiiii