On a given year between

January and Feb,

First is the crocus to grace

the garden;

Bright, cheery,

like the sun;

In tandem with cyclamen and

the earlier tribes of Galanthus.

The floral concert has started,

If it ever had a pause,

And it rarely does it want to stop.

By the time buttercup crocus

departs,

Spring Dawn Narcissus is nodding

beside the path;

Followed by Early Sensation,

Ice Follies and

March Herald Tate-ta-Tate;

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Plus the miniatures with a name

I know not.

Yet between the November fall of the

citrine-leaved Maples,

And the rise of crocus janviér;

A new member of Party Floral joins

the Sun:

One with a rosette that opened on

Christmas Eve,

And a second that swept into play on

New Year's Day;

A member of a party of fifteen,

Who between them form a dance from

late July to this Fifteenth of January:

Who will all be pruned the week of

Valentine’s Day,

In readiness for a new season of

growth and abundance:

Moleneux the Yellow,

Single member of its

bright shade amongst

the English,

Old English Musk,

Leander and

Alba Roses.

Or,

as I call it this winter's day:

January Yellow.