Creeping Phlox Close-Up

Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) fills the frame in a low mat of open blooms. Pale magenta five-lobed corollas surround dark blue star-shaped centers with small yellow anthers; soft daylight and a very shallow depth of field keep most blooms blurred. One blossom at center-left shows a tiny tear at the edge of a lobe.