So, Gary, to the Why?
I play with two colours here: orange/red & green -- each in different shades but clearly in a colour contrast set up.
The distribution of sharpness aspect leads the eye towards the flower itself, which does "look" away from the onlooker.
The green elements give a natural framing to the peach colour of the rose, the protect the fragile structure from the borders.
The leading element is the leaf at 1 hours with the saw cut line arrowing towards the blossom.
All that is meant as metaphor of the relation between my friend and my wife. Story closed by the headline "kosher".
It is all in there with layers and layers and you do not have to know it to like it or not like it.