to my dismay, all the usual purveyors of flowers that i favoured, even brattle square florist, had only wretched and uninspiring flowers, and the heat had made them look all the more woebegone. central square, i understand, has florists too, but the one i went to investigate left me unsatisfied with the selection and prices. it is too late in the year for peonies, i think, and too early for sweetpeas. snapdragons and freesias, i have some memory, can be bought this time of year, but perhaps i remember wrongly. irises? irises are nice, and i thought i had them when darryl gave a dinner party, but was that party in the summer? yellows and whites are no good for this room, i think a dark, arresting shade of purple or red would do well for the apartment. or perhaps soft colours, pinks and lilacs, to soften the look? i shall go out again and hunt for red or purple flowers. or pink and lilac ones, as the fancy strikes me. there must be some freesias about somewhere in this city.