I was going to start this thread after the first snow fell here in Utah. But today the temperature dropped 40 or so degrees and the wind was howling (and the photo contest ended) - so I took those as my cue.

Most of the time when we photograph plants, we do it at the apex of their beauty. But there's clearly a purpose for the entire life cycle of a plant or flower. It has a job to do (and is doing that job) from sprouting to growing to flowering to seeding to dying - and then starting the cycle again.

I find beauty in the entire cycle - from the potential in the seeds themselves to the contribution of the decomposition that gives the next generations a chance to complete their leg of the ever spiraling cycle(s).

So this thread is about anything but the apex of what we think of as youth's beauty...and finding beauty throughout the cycle. And, of course, this is probably a metaphor for other things, too ;).

I'll start. Here's a hibiscus about three days past its prime. I defy anyone to tell me that there's not wonder in it still:

I find what ice can do to plants both appalling and beautiful..

Ooooh!
Love this idea for thread!
Great shots you two--definitely wonder and beauty still

evermorelawnless - your example is weird, but defensibly wonderful!

Cool thread, and I agree, the whole cycle has beauty. I'll be looking.

Here are a couple of first frost pictures. This is before the cold really does its number, but pretty even so.

Seed pods (broccoli, if I recall correctly) and various ages of dianthus, the "generations" together, as it were:

Oh, I like the contributions so far!

Here is some St. John's Wort I shot up on the mountain a few weeks ago. It's on its way out:

Cool idea for a thread and the images are wonderful! The circle can be seen in the intricate structure and whorls of a daylily bud as it prepares to be a "beauty for a day".

A polymerous bud


A layered (hose-in-hose) bud

Rayjacksonia phylocephalla

Oh, yeah. Neat stuff here that you've posted. Thought about this thread for 2-3 months before I started it...and I'm stoked so far by the shots shared.

Sarracenia psittacina fading into dormancy

I took a couple shots of my Birch tree a few days ago. In the first photo the tree bark gets lost in the busy background which is so similar in color that it detracts from the focal point---the tree bark. The second shot is zoomed in from further away and the background is blurred. That makes the beautiful bark of the Birch stand out.

Phoenix...the original ficus was damaged and since it had integrated itself into the wall of the red panda enclosure at the Australia Zoo in Queensland the decision was made to allow it to disintergrate..... this small bit of life remains and is thriving.

Moonhowl said:Phoenix...the original ficus was damaged and since it had integrated itself into the wall of the red panda enclosure at the Australia Zoo in Queensland the decision was made to allow it to disintergrate..... this small bit of life remains and is thriving.

Well, there's the whole danged circle in a nutshell (as it were). It's almost perverse in a way, but absolutely fantastic.

Here's a part of the Circle of Life that we always look forward to. Dead and dying leaves are adored for the show they put on annually about as much as they are valued while living on the tree albeit barely looked upon as much as when they are dying or dead.

There are two Japanese words that fit this thread quite well.

Sabe--the beauty that comes with age and deterioration (sah--bay)

and

Wabe--the beauty in the flaw or the less than perfect (wha-bay)


and my dear husband says I am both Sabe-licious and Wabe-licious

Phalaenopsis fade away: blooms on their way out, though the stalk is still green it may or may not try to bloom again. But for those who know better, cutting off that stalk will help the plant refocus its energy later on for more roots and leaves.

Poppy seed pod outline -


Love in a Mist seed pod -