Dollie Radford

December

No gardener need go far to find
    The Christmas rose,
The fairest of the flowers that mark
    The sweet Year’s close:
Nor be in quest of places where
    The hollies grow,
Nor seek for sacred trees that hold
    The mistletoe.
All kindly tended gardens love
    December days,
And spread their latest riches out
    In winter’s praise.
But every gardener’s work this month
    Must surely be
To choose a very beautiful
    Big Christmas tree,
And see it through the open door
    In triumph ride,
To reign a glorious reign within
    At Christmas-tide.