a color story: pink blossoms and the skeptic

Pink hydrangeas from Costco entered the home and the pink pedals ballooned out of its green foliage. I had to feel the pedals in order to distinguish whether if they were real. 

Fake plants do not possess the velvet-like pedals found in nature. But, this supposed "hydrangea" possessed a velvet-like quality in its pedals. With the help of Google lens, I requested another set of eyes - there was a chance that I have wrongly identified the plant. It was, however, a hydrangea. 

Still, the plant's aesthetic portrayed a fakeness in its colors. 

The hydrangea radiated its pink hues and its green foliage were behind the scenes. There was a quite unusual flower to foliage ratio - how could there be so much pink from so little green? I am used to seeing much less flowers in hydrangeas from my previous outdoor interactions. Same plant but different plant. The connection between the two surfaced as a visual confusion. Outdoor hydrangea resulted in a Green Dominant, Pink Minor aesthetic while the Costco version resulted in a Pink Dominant, Green Minor aesthetic. In an odd sense, the foliage in the Costco version represented the beauty to its aesthetic  - the green foliage barely revealed itself like a flower. 

The highest compliment a plant can receive is whether if it's fake - its perfection is its lack of imperfections which are easily accomplished through artificial creation.  The logic remains true for the opposite - artificial plants are flattered when people acknowledge them as real. The perfection of the artificial plant is how imperfect it looks. 

Along with the hydrangea, an artificial orchid arrived as well. The family member, who purchased this ornament, accentuated its fake column (middle of the flower) by painting it yellow. I believed this to be strange but effective. The yellow accents added a realness to the plant.

One cannot paint a natural flower (without killing it, of course) and distort the aesthetics. But, one can prune back the plants foliage, where it will display less green. As suspected, I noticed the careful human cuttings at the bottom half of the plant. The professional who pruned the plants optimized the bloom volumes by picking the winning stems (Hence, this is why people prune their plants).

Now, other questions came into mind. Was this hydrangea a genetically selected super hydrangea species with a high blossom volume? Was this a normal hydrangea with its recommended fertilizer? Was this grown with optimal humidity and sunlight? 

With an untrained or unconscious eye, Instagram may trick you into believing that the pictures are real. Same goes for these Costco flowers. These must be grown from a nursery with expertise in growing large blossom plants. Although Costco roast their own chickens, there is no way that Costco grows their own flowers in house. 

Although Costco has its Kirkland division where they create and sell products in their stores ( I am a huge fan of Kirkland), I almost forgot that Costco roots its business as a wholesale distributor -  they mostly sell items in huge quantities that are produced by other businesses. In the case of the hydrangea, Costco provides value to their loyal customers by selling these nursery grown plants at a lower price. You can easily see this exact plant at double the price in your local nursery.

I should revise how I name the plant. These are nursery grown hydrangeas distributed by Costco, not Costco flowers. If the story makes sense, the color makes sense too.

Earlier this morning, the pedals started to fade on one area. I didn't feel cheated by Costco. The rough transition from a resort-like, greenhouse living conditions to a living room shocked the hydrangea. 

Enjoy it while it lasts hydrangea - there is no greenhouse here. Once the last winter frost disappears, you will be outside with mother nature.