The Only Kind of Spring Bouquet I’d Ever Want to Receive

Padding down the street in a small Slovenian town a week ago, I was stopped cold by a curious display in a shop window.

For a minute, I couldn’t quite fathom what I was looking at, and then it sunk in–these were edible bouquets. Now as much as I love the peonies that are currently in season, I can’t think of a more delicious way of making someone happy than offering them a composition of white asparagus, new potatoes and radishes. Or if you’re with an asparagus lover in Paris at the moment, make a bee-line for Maceo, an exceptionally pretty restaurant near the Palais Royal that’s serving a superb all-asparagus menu for 52 Euros right now. It also has one of the best wine lists in Paris, and the service is as suave as it comes.  Maceo, 15 rue des Petits-Champs, 1st, Tel. 01-42-97-53-85. Mo Bourse. Prix-fixe menus 32 Euros, 38 Euros, a la carte 60 Euros.