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

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

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.