South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 49

-V Fort LaucJerclale News 1 JOAN BROOKWELL Home Garden Editor HOME GARDEN V' i ''Iff 1 It" 1 1 V' Fridiy. Novenibfcr 1 fell-infbimed source going into retirement 31 4 wing the past several years I occasionally have been told that I i I certainly know a lot about oorucuuure. i Wronp. Lew Watsnn knnw a lnt "11 f- 1 1 Stall pholoROBEHT MAYER Shuttered windows and budded wallpaper complement the focus of this room: a double-sized reproduction of an enameled antique iron JOTTING UN IN UNCI ION Think of future when decorating A child's room doesn't have to look like it's just for kids. With a room can be a place to play as a child or study as a -teen-ager.

By LYNNE HELM 'v Special to the News mm- about horticulture. 1 Most of the times I have been stuck for -information about a gardening subject and that has been often I have called Lew at the Broward County Cooperative Extension Service office. That's also what I usually tell other people to do, the ones who phone asking me how to save -their grapefruit tree or rescue the lawn from marauding chinch bugs. Call He has never been too busy to answer a question, in that Virginia drawl he has never lost Sometimes he'll tell you a whole lot more than you really need to know, but that's OK. As he admits, "If you ask me what time it is, I'll tell you how to build a clock." On1 the rare occasions he doesn't have the information you need, he always knows someone who does.

And he always seems to have that person's phone number within arm's reach. But af tef 31 years with the Broward County Extension Service, Lew Watson is retiring, and that is leaving a real and very large empty space. His kind of experience and expertise is hard to find, and for one, am going to miss it Yes, I know there are and will be other extension agents but not many with 31 years worth of know-how about what grows in South Florida. More cows than people When Lew came here in 1955 as assistant county extension agent, Broward was the largest dairy county in the state. It also grew the most sod and was one of Florida's largest producers of citrus and vegetables.

But over the years Lew has watched the county become urbanized, and along the way found himself, like other county agents, dealing less with bean farmers and more with homeowners trying to grow grass and plant gardens in this peculiar South Florida climate. The phones at the Extension Service headquarters in Davie now ring with questions about lawns, houseplants and dooryard citrus; not cattle and commercial orange groves. Not all of the farms became suburbs, of course. Foliage growers arrived in Broward, and nurseries that grow ornamental plants and trees have sprouted on land where less profitable vegetables used to grow. So Lew has helped these growers, too, when they have problems with their -spathiphyllums, dracaenas and ficus trees.

Saying goodbye A lot of Lew's friends and co-workers got together last Saturday night at Tropical Acres restaurant in Dania to honor him and wish him health and happiness in his retirement He wasn't supposed to know about the dinner beforehand, according to County Extension Director Elaine Klatt, but then several people who came into the office earlier in the week apparently had their minds on other things and cheerfully told Lew they'd see him Saturday night So much for surprises. After dinner, a number of people who have known and worked with Lew told funny stories about him but what everybody was really thinking was what oldtime Broward County dairy farmer Wiley Waldrep said best In a soft voice that most of us had to strain to hear, Waldrep said simply, "I been knowing Lew ever since he came here. I don't know anybody who has helped us out more. "I hate to see him go. We should be happy we've had him with us for 31 years." And just as simply, when everyone else had finished making speeches about him, Lew said, "I have enjoyed the 31 years here.

I dont know any place in the country with more sincere and dedicated folks." Watson, who lives in Margate, said he and his wife, Jean, plan to do some traveling. "But I want to come back and be a permanent citizen of Broward County," he said; Good. Now if I can only get his home phone INSIDE Furnishing a child's room can be a mixed-emotion venture. There's joy over achieving a certain pint-sized perfection. And sorrow over knowing it Zkl; 1 SlSrt photo ELIOT J.

SCHECHTER Neutral colors allow for easy redecorating if Dolphins fall from favor. By LYNNE HELM Special lo the News 1 I I "1 'me t0 renovate or niove out I of the nursery? Here are tips I from the experts on creating I suitable quarters for your XI. growing child. Safety comes first No matter how tight your budget or how charming that antique bed might be, use caution when adopting "previously owned" furnishings for a child's room. Rusted metal parts, sharp edges and weakened joints can lead to trouble; The same goes for spanking new pieces, particularly cheap bunk beds designed without adequate safety rails or underpinnings.

Insist on flame-retardant materials that meet or exceed federal guldei lines for mattresses, bedding, curtains; lampshades, etc. r- Provide appropriate lighting your child's reading needs. But first" make sure the room is adequately wired. Extension cords snaking around corners and under throw rugs spell trouble. Don't overload low-wattage lamp sockets with bulbs designed to illuminate the Orange Bowl.

Furnish with practicality Unless you can afford to shell put for high-priced fads, shop for classic furniture constructed to last Such an investment (easily running $2,000 and up), can pay off because pieces can ma- ture along with your child, from cradle through college and beyond. SEE TIP84E, won't last Or will it? "With the baby boom there's a lot of attention being lavished on creating children's environments, for extended use," says Deborah Maer, who directs the interior design program at Bauder College, Fort Lauderdale, Proper design, Maer says, can ensure children won't rapidly outgrow their rooms like they do those gamy sneakers forever getting lost under the bed. Children's rooms have come a long' way, from Howdy-Doody sheets or Bo-Peep wallpaper. And as '80s moms and pops are finding out, today's media-oriented kids have a sense of design sophistication unheard of decades ago. Parents should capitalize on says Interior designer Raymond Boor-, stein, who prefers to interview offspring along with Mom or Dad before tackling children's rooms, "With what things cost today, parents want rooms to grow with their: children," says Boorstein, who recently moved his firm from North Miami to expanded headquarters not far from Dania's much-heralded Design Center of the Americas.

In a feminine fantasy executed for the daughter of Dr. Philip and Phyllis lington Industries, recommends easily laundered throw-on comforters. "Nobody wants to make least of all, Good looks are important for children's-rooms, but function is the key, says interior designer Aviva Davis, who also offers a consulting service for people who prefer to execute their own rooms rather than have a professional handle all the details. For example, in a "Dolphin Room," Davis selected an adjustable brass reading lamp hinged to the wall, which both maximizes space and avoids it being knocked over. By employing neutrals for furnishings, walls and floor, the entire look of this room can be overhauled by substituting different posters, pillows and wastebaskets.

Parents of modest means should in- SEE CHILDREN ME Mirmelli of Plantation, Boorstein minimized clutter around the eye-catching iron bed with expanses of functional white mica for both closets and furnishings. While a pink phone and lipstick cases eventually may replace stuffed animals and hair ribbons, the room1 is destined to remain a timeless vision: No matter what your budget or taste, Boorstein says, most children's needs standard: a bed, dresser, desk and lamp. Beyond that, it's up to you and your child. Don't try to make a small room too multifunctional, Boorstein warns. Some, youngsters who need quality slumber can lose sight of a bedroom's purpose if it's loaded with everything from a television and VCR to a miniref rigerator and personal computer.

Instead of expensive custom bedspreads, Boorstein, who serves on the interior design advisory board, of Bur-''; Mums the Special to the New ore than 1.5 'million chrysanthemum blossoms will go on display Saturday at Cypress Gardens. "Floral Magic: Chrysanthemums on Parade" returns to the Central HOME GARDEN There's no reason to let limited space prevent you from enjoying palms, those most tropical of trees. 3E blossoms will take center stage at the Central Florida theme park this month. creating the- colorful floral rainbows that meander through the hills and valleys around the waterf alL The primary varieties on display are 'Bronze an orangeyellow variety, 'Jane a pale yellow selection; which produces a pure white flower, a rosy pink bloom; 'Ohgon no a pale yellow variety, and 'Firechief a deep red selection. In addition to the six primary under production, the nine-member nursery staff has been experimenting with 21 additional varieties for possible inclusion in the festival Among those are 'Fortune 'Echo.

'Perfect Joy and The nursery staff also has been growing anemone and decorative mums for display during the festival, an addition for 1986. "We're always testing new varieties," notes Norm FreeL the gardens' vice president of horticulture. "If we find one of the selections under test works out better produces more colorful, longer-lasting blooms we'll plan larger plantings of that variety. If we find something better, we may discontinue a type we've used previously. We're striving for the most spectacular display we can provide." SEE CYPRE8S 5E TEMPLE Rabbi David Gordon spreads the gospel of keeping fit, by walking: EE Florida theme park for the second year and will remain on exhibit through Nov.

30. This year's mum festival the largest in Florida will be showcased in the Mediterranean waterfall area. The show is said to be SO percent larger than last year's. The gardens' horticulture department has devoted more than two acres of nursery area to the and growing of the mums, which have been in production since mid-February. The majority of mum plants, about 13,000 pots, will be daisy varieties, which are well-suited to the pruning required to train mums to cascade.

They have been grown on special gratings, built of metal fencing material covered with nylon shade cloth, elevated 5 feet from the ground and slanted at a 45-degree angle. More than 6,500 feet of fencing materials were used in training the cascading plants. Grown three to a 7-gal-lon pot, the plants trail more than 5 feet in length before being transplanted to the festival site. This year's festival also will showcase mums in hanging baskets. Grown in wire containers lined with sphagnum moss and filled in with a mixture of peat and sand, they are mounted on specially constructed display poles and cascade more than 2 feet Six primary varieties of mums have been used in i vs TELEVISION Alan Thicke is finally a successful talk-show host; this time in a movie.

11E Advice 2E Best Bot 11E November Checklist 3E Comics 126 Do It Yourself 3E Horoscope 13E Workers at Cypress Gardens have been grooming 1 .5 million blossoms for this exhibiu.