Boxes of Late Summer Light: A Master Gardener’s High Catskills Creation

Dean Riddle is reveling in the last of the summer phlox. The five-foot-tall semi-wild plants, bursting with ample pink blossoms, cover the Catskills through the second half of summer, graciously offering their nectar to butterflies and their beauty to anyone who will pause long enough to notice.

This year, Riddle observes, has been a great year for the plant. “It’s been the best summer phlox to come along in forever,” he says. “Its spicy fragrance is intoxicating and its blue-pink color is stunning, particularly at dawn or dusk—it’s been heart-stopping.”