Portland, Oregon is the City of Roses. We paint them on our buildings, they’re cast into our manhole covers and we celebrate them annually with a two week long festival. During the winter it’s easy to forget why Roses are celebrated so fervently. The winter represents a long stretch of gray skies and constant rainfall. Around the end of May the roses start to emerge in an organic fireworks display of color. Humans have figured out how to create a wide range of colors using synthetic dyes, mixed inks and arrays of LEDs. This is commendable, but there’s really no competing with the brilliant tones and subtle gradients produced by these flowers.
Flowers are the original advertising masterminds. They target exclusive demographics, their polinators, with specially selected colors. Humans try to clumsily appropriate this skill, utilizing bright inks and flashy graphics to entice consumers to buy product. For the creative class, it’s how we pay the bills. It’s important to pay homage to the original innovators. Spend an afternoon at Peninsula Park or the Rose Garden at Washington Park and soak up the inspiration. These beautiful creatures won’t be around for long.
