August - The Dayflower

August always feels like a hinge. Summer leaning into autumn, light beginning to soften, days carrying both fullness and farewell. This week I found myself returning to a flower I first noticed last year.

I remember seeing it once on my walk - small, delicate, impossibly blue. That same afternoon I went back, hoping to see it again and maybe capture a photo. I searched carefully, certain I knew the spot, but it was gone. I even walked back and forth along the path, surprised that something so vivid could vanish in just a few hours.

Later I learned its name: Asiatic dayflower. A wildflower that blooms only for a single day, fading by noon, leaving no trace but memory.

Its briefness holds a kind of wisdom. The dayflower whispers: be here now, do not miss what is in front of you.

I painted a small study to keep its presence a little longer. Some flowers remind us of the fleeting. Others, like the forget me nots from my grandmother’s garden, hold memory and belonging.

For now, this tiny blue bloom is my August reminder. Some beauty is not meant to last forever, only to touch you once and then live in memory.

I have a feeling this little dayflower will not stay only in my sketchbook. Watch for new items with it soon.

With love,

Olga