@ian I like that last photo! I would encourage you to keep the rule of thirds in mind. In this case, framing a little farther right would have removed some of the left edge clutter as well as giving room for the golden rod to “bend towards the center”. It tends to make a picture more life like because the subject has somewhere to go. Not sure if that makes sense.
Also, things found along the third lines tend to have better visual appeal and tend to catch eye quicker than dead center things.