BLOUSY: Magnolia soulangiana proudly displays her bloomage. Photography by JACKIE RUSSELL.

FRILLS and flamboyance — that’s what the sensuous blooms of spring are made of. The beguiling colours allure onlookers with their perfect form perched atop legging stems and, before infatuated lovers know it, the teasing beauties disappear.

These girls won’t be back in town for another year and if people want a peek they need to head outdoors now. A curtain of hardy green foliage will soon close the stage, and the fleeting pretties will wrinkle and retreat.

There’s no cover charge for these showgirls, with many of them posing on street corners or calling “come hither” from behind furtive fences. A quick wander or meandering drive will soon reveal the proliferation of babes just waiting to be adored.

Delightful daffodils wave out in the breeze from the gates of Howick Historical Village. The girls enjoy security in numbers and are accessorised with matching colour variations.

They love to bathe in full sunshine and chilly winter nights will bring out their best when the days start to lengthen.

Magnolia soulangiana is the buxom beauty of the show with her voluptuous “DD-cup” blooms. She stands tall in the cast and appreciates her audience’s attention.

One proud lady gives pleasure to many from her driveway setting where neighbours and clients of an at-home business are left breathless by her majestic magnetism.

<!--page-->

WANTON: Taiwanese cherry is a loud rule breaker. LUSCIOUS: Peachy promises for the loyal. TEMPTRESS: Muscari likes the company of others.

The Taiwan cherry, prunus campanulata is a raucous wench who shouts from streets, letting everyone know the party girls have arrived. The flashy, crimson show-off belies the delicate blossom that is enjoyed when admirers get up close and personal. However, she’s a wayward lass who’s no longer welcome in the northern regions of New Zealand — the dominatrix of ornamental cherry trees.

A precocious peach makes flirty promises with her frilly flowers. She rewards her devotees with luscious fruits when her flash-in-the-pan colour is a long forgotten memory. For more than two decades a dwarf variety has obliged her loyal guardian from the constraints of a pot and happily put down roots when moved from one venue to another. She works hard to please her regulars.

For a cheap thrill tiny muscari, grape hyacinth is tops when she sidles up with her girlfriends. Socialising is her forte and when she is left to multiple she gives her best show. Her tiny purple baubles create cool relief between brazen blooms and she obligingly performs in sun or light shade with very few demands.