Hibiscus and Hills

Himachal Pradesh, India · nature

A single red hibiscus blooms on a thin stem in a garden, the dark hill ridges behind providing all the depth the frame needs.

Indian hill-station gardens tend to grow whatever can survive the cool nights — and hibiscus does, surprisingly well, once you find the right spot. Most bushes don't flower as profusely as their plains cousins, but the few blooms they do produce are tougher, brighter, and last longer in the cooler air.

This bush was at the edge of a kitchen garden with the hills falling away behind. One flower had opened on the lower branch, the rest of the plant still all stems and small leaves. I stepped back to let the hills do their work, kept the flower offset to one corner, and shot. The composition wasn't subtle — a red flower against grey-blue ridges is exactly what it sounds like — but some compositions don't need to be subtle to work.

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