A friend called yesterday complaining that her allergies were just terrible.  This 2-3 week period during which the privet blooms is the worst allergy time of the year in the Hamptons. We are literally encircled by fortresses of privet. Although not everyone suffers from the same allergens, those little white flowers on privet seem to torment even non-allergy sufferers. So we found it rather comical to see an ad in the Hamptons glossies this week for a new fragrance called Privet Bloom. Who thought it logical to create a perfume out of a terrible allergen? Although the company has Hamptons in its name, it is not based here. We look forward to the return of our lush, green, flowerless privet.