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Beatrix Potter introduced me to foxgloves. Until I saw them in her children's story "The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck," I hadn't known such marvels existed. They looked like purply-pink cathedral spires spangled with bells, a whole thicket of them surrounding the cottage of the "whiskered, bushy-tailed gentleman" of the story -- the fox who was after Jemima's eggs."They're an old garden plant and conjure up the old cottage-garden atmosphere," says Englishman John Elsley, horticulturist at Wayside Gardens in South Carolina.

BOSTON -- Bradford Washburn has a favorite phrase: "Skin one skunk at a time." The critters out there know better.At 88, Washburn still walks, shoots and maps mountains, and he directs projects simultaneously as the mountaineer, photographer, cartographer and manager he's been in a 65-year career that won't quit."

Complicated and far-reaching questions confront the Orioles at every turn from now through December.What to do about Rafael Palmeiro? About Roberto Alomar?About acquiring another class starting pitcher?About a roster that may potentially remain as gray (and as expensive) as the Jurassic Park exhibit that opened this season?About The Streak?Even for an organization with the resources to reinvent itself annually, these are substantive issues not only affecting the franchise's competitiveness on the field but its perception within a fan base subjected to regular ticket price hikes and an October probably absent baseball for the first time since 1995.

This week in A La Carte we're introducing a new recipe layout. In response to readers' requests, we've replaced our vertical recipe format with a more horizontal presentation that should make it easier not only to cut out the recipes, but also to paste and file them for future use.Pub Date: 12/03/97

Until now, defense companies have preached the need to merge so they can be more efficient in a time of declining military spending.But Lockheed Martin's deal to gobble up Northrop Grumman is something different, said Norman R. Augustine, the Bethesda-based company's chief executive and the industry's avatar of merger mania."

Having mastered perennials and ornamental grasses, borders, bulbs and ground covers, gardeners are moving up -- literally. The fashionable yard now features an arbor or trellis draped with graceful vines like ivy, climbing roses, trumpet creeper or clematis.Check your garden center or gardener's catalog. The simple whitewashed fan trellis your grandmother used for her roses has been joined by European-inspired designs made of cedar, powder-coated steel, wrought iron, tree branches and vines, even recycled plastic.

Regular readers of this column must know that I'm smitten with kitchens. Probably because I love to cook -- and owing also to my enjoyment of hanging out at home with friends and family -- no other room makes me feel more contented than an airy, efficient and comfortable kitchen.I'm fortunate to have just such a space. But I realize that not everyone is so blessed, especially those city dwellers who must cope with truly minuscule areas allocated for food preparation and storage.While it's often difficult and frustrating to work in that kind of kitchen, this need not be a permanent condition.

Our spacious bedroom has a cathedral ceiling that makes our aging furniture look puny. What do you suggest as a more suitably scaled replacement for our traditionally styled cherry-wood pieces?More than just the furniture needs to be considered in a room with a tall, slanted ceiling.For starters, I suggest you install some additional millwork, such as wooden beams, along with lots of fabrics for use as bed and window dressing.A colorfully patterned rug would also help divert attention from the room's vertical thrust, making the space appear less cavernous.

When I was in my early 20s I had a black-and-white pantsuit that I just loved. Then I married, had two children and put on weight. Now after six months of dieting I am back to my original 130 pounds. As a reward I want to get myself another striped pantsuit. But every time I try one on my husband says I look like a jailbird. Should I give up?Of course not. A striped pantsuit is young, dashing and always looks modern. That's why so many designers like stripes and keep using them in different width and color combinations.

Skilled Analyst"Disingenuous" is a kind word to apply to Gov. Parris N. Glendening's assertion that he did not envision the consequences of the pension plans he was responsible for establishing and implementing in Prince George's County.He is, after all, the first author of "Pragmatic Federalism: An Intergovernmental View of American Government."According to one reviewer (writing in 1978 in the Journal of Politics), this book "realistically portrays how the governmental system of the United States works . . . including interstate, state-local and interlocal interactions.