Cicely Mary Barker's Ragged Robin Fairy

In wet marshy meadows
A tattered piper strays-
Ragged, ragged Robin;
On thin reeds he plays.

He asks for no payment;
He plays, for delight, 
A tune for the fairies 
To dance to, at night.

They nod and they whisper, 
And say, looking wise, 
"A princling is Robin, 
For all his disguise!

A native of Eurasia, ragged robin is a widespread and common perennial found in damp meadows and marshes and wet woodland clearings. They flower between May and August and are easily recognizable by the ragged appearance of its flowers. Ragged Robin has become increasingly scarce because of changing land use. It grows well in sun or partial shade and attracts butterflies and bees.