In the time between Mid-May and


    Solstice June,


    The Floral Princesses slowly awake.


    From the sycamore and plane-leaved


    woods they rise:


    Slim as birches,


    Strong as towers,


    Cuffs mineral-hued;


    Collars of star-birthed gems.


    By their collars, cuffs and pillar corsets, did I


    know them,


    Even before their open gazes took my


    breath away:


    Bright-collared and rose-pink


    Buckland,


    First to rise and the last to go;


    Invariably joined by diamond-rose


    Roma,


    Cuffs and collars in a hue that


    danced.


    Next and capable of parading till August;


    The Ebony-corseted,


    Carmine-cuffed and


    ruby-collared daughters of Gill Richardson


    would stride;


    To join the dance with the Ladies of Hadspen


    Blood and Ruby Star.


    Whilst not far away would be Gill''s sister in


    all but colour:


    Skipping Penny in cuffs and collars of Crimson-pink.


    Yet the parade had not truly begun til


    House Involucratae had joined the fun:


    Snow white Moira Reid and Pine-tall


    Orlando,


    Cuffs and stellar ruffs of pale green, white-tipped


    with emeralds.


    To contrast with deep Venice and


    elegant Bury Court;


    Crimson gems sparkling against calm fields of


    campanula blue.


    But, as May is followed by June;


    Still Gill and Roma were but two of a


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.sky-reaching quintet;


    The five Astrantias to whom a wreath of elegance


    could be set:


    As the teal and mauve geraniums danced


    and played,


    The Ladies of the Four Cities continued to rise.


    Above their maple and plane-leaved


    canopies;


    On stems that could almost soar to the


    very clouds:


    One as rich a ruby as any of


    the Reds;


    Yet so great that only Gill and Venice could come


    close to matching her.


    The other three would soar further


    still;


    Yet not all belonged to House Involucrata:


    As Barrister, Snowstar and


    Crocodile-leaved Superstar joined Moira


    and Orlando.


    Their two Sister-Courts would rise to a height reached


    only by another.


    Cuffs of jade-tipped and emerald-veined snow;


    Pale ruffs shaped like a grand star with tips of stained-


    glass ruby:


    Crocus Shaggy and West County Shaggy whose ruffs


    were tinged with the softest rose pink,


    And, along with Ruby Wedding, would have me gazing.


    To be joined by a fourth that could be said to


    be of the House of Pale Pink:


    Tall Florence to whom the word elegance was first applied;


    A bridge between Pink Roma and Snowstar White.


    Lars, Helen and Gill would indeed dance on into


    the haze of August.


    But the zenith of June would also be the zenith of the ladies,


    No – towers;


    No – Emergents Of the Four Cities,


    That also encompassed Roma,


    Vigorous Gill Richardson;


    And made them cousins of the Minora-shaped


    Sapphire Eyrngiums:


    Ruby Wedding, Florence and the Two Shaggies,


    To be later joined by two more members of House Involucrata:


    Majestic and triple-flushed Burgundy Manor,


    Last to arrive, yet the most surprising of the Reds,


    And the pink-centred and snow-white collared Jumble Hole:


    Princesses of the Floral Kingdom known as Astrantia,


    Whose late May to mid-June forms never failed


    to surprise.