perennials

Beautiful Balloons

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Lately the balloon flower—Platycodon grandiflorus—has been stalking me. As I wander through garden centers in search of mid-summer bargains, the inflated buds pop out from the pallets. A neighbor’s border overflows with a blue-flowered variety. Last week, on a visit to the main garden of the Cloisters museum in Upper Manhattan, I saw a giant … Read more

Digiplexis

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My husband used to get alarmed by the detailed plant lists that I make at this time of the year.  It’s no wonder, really.  Lengthy, detailed and involving huge expenditures, the lists are a two-dimensional harbinger of bankruptcy.  I compile them while in the throes of catalog fever, an affliction that I catch on contact … Read more