Louise T. Guinther

Snapdragons have always been high on my list of favorite flowers. I happen to like their spiky yet lavish shape, their dashing variety of colors and patterns and their subtle, spicy/sweet smell. But more than that, I associate them with East Hampton, my summertime happy place since childhood, where every roadside farmstand offers big, bright bunches of them alongside the corn and tomatoes. At the sight of their ruffly blossoms, I can just feel the late-July sunshine toasting my bare shoulders and smell the scent of Coppertone and barbecues.

Fancy my delight at finding a cheerful clutch of these summertime lovelies bravely blooming away in my front-porch planters just a day from the start of December. It warms the heart and ignites the imagination and makes those long, lazy days of sun and fun seem a little less far away.