Ember Hours

By Jon Bidwell

A cluster of blanket flowers rises through the frame at different stages, from a tight, unopened bud with just a few flame-colored petals unfurling, to a full bloom overhead with petals curling downward past its prime. Their warm reds and oranges cut against a soft haze of blue salvia in the background, while slender seed pods lean in from the left, marking the season's quiet turn from bloom to seed. The composition holds bud, flower, and fading bloom all in one breath, a small timeline of a summer garden's life cycle.