Congressional Gardener at hobby. Washington, D.C., May 7. Rep. William R. Poage, a first term Texas Democrat, likes gardening. He couldn't find a plot of ground in the crowded capital, so he used his newly acquired congressional influence and won permission to help tend flowers and shrubbery in the government's Botanical Gardens. So he works along with the regular laborers an hour or two daily. no. 1, 5/7/1937