Not all the flowers in your shoot-list of winners are worthy, some with a poor composition. I liked the photos @sunscape, @ninahaskin and @bigsambucca. I do not understand the criteria for choosing the others, I'm sorry.
Question on the new assignment, can there be a sun in the frame?
I disagree with you about the worthiness of the winners. Every image is worthy of its winning place. ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS including @youhavewings, @fernandes, @kunschj and @claudiaz are worthy winners. I thank you for bringing up the subject though, as it prompted me to write a post in photography-101 with a critique for each of the winning entries! I do hope you will read it here as it answers your question about the reasoning behind the winning choices in more depth.
You can have the sun or lens flare etc. in the shot - just no horizon, trees or land.