An upstairs window opened in Verdun Crescent, hands clapped to dismiss a cat rooting in a flower bed.

NEWYORKER: Bravado

His reconnoitre had led him, through a vegetable patch given up to weeds, into what had been a garden, its single remaining flower bed marked with seed packets that told what its several rows contained.

NEWYORKER: The Woman of the House

After collecting a nightcap in the Club Lounge, we contentedly returned to our corner suite, embellished with oil paintings, fresh flower arrangements, leather ottomans, a dramatic half-tester king bed and mirrored French armoires.

FORBES: Maison Orleans: A Crescent City Gem

They looked down at the solitary flower bed, at the bright-colored seed packets marking the empty rows, each packet pierced with a stick.

NEWYORKER: The Woman of the House