Repetition of the same word in a sentence

Pouring the water on the flower, Jenny admired the flowers just beginning to open.

In the above sentence, the word "flower" is repeated once. Is repetition of the same word in a single sentence ok or is it necessary to avoid repetition?

Solution 1:

Repetition is sometimes used for special effects but in this sentence this is not the type of repetition that we are dealing with. Good writers will try to suppress repetition. In this sentence, as the repetition is not exact but is in the plural, it could be preserved without making the sentence really awkward.

• Pouring the water on the flower, Jenny admired the flowers just beginning to open.

Pronouns can be used instead, but as "just beginning to open" is restrictive (determining, in other words) a different formulation is necessary to preserve this sense. Note that the determining function of "the" in the initial sentence is taken up by "those" in the new sentence.

• Pouring the water on the flower, Jenny admired among the other ones those just beginning to open.