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

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found 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.

  Buckland

  Roma

  Gill Richardson

  Penny's Pink

  Venice

  Moira Reid

  Florence

  Shaggy

  Ruby Wedding

  Burgundy Manor

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