Overheard a guy at the garden center say something that gave me chills

I was at a greenhouse in Austin yesterday picking up some new potting soil and I overheard this older guy telling his friend that he only uses special imported soil from Japan for his rare orchids. He said he spends like $200 a year just on that dirt. It got me thinking, some folks in this hobby are going way overboard and maybe missing the whole point. Has anyone else noticed this trend of people buying into hype instead of just enjoying the plants?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_butler8315d ago

Catch myself doing this in other areas too, honestly. I got really into coffee a few years back and suddenly I was reading about single-origin beans from some micro-lot in Ethiopia that cost $40 a bag. Made me step back and realize I was more into the label than the actual taste. Same thing happens with kitchen knives, whiskey, even hiking gear. People get caught up in the story behind the thing and forget to just enjoy the thing itself. Your mileage may vary but for me, a decent local potting soil and a happy plant beats fancy dirt from Japan any day.

lily_singh215d ago

Interesting how you mention whiskey because I've watched friends spend hundreds on bottles they barely enjoyed, just because the distillery had a good story behind it. Do you think the marketing around these things tricks us into thinking we're experiencing something special when we're really just buying a fantasy? Sometimes it feels like the cost itself becomes part of the flavor for people.

parker_thomas15d ago

That $40 Ethiopian coffee probably wasn't even single-origin... most of those bags are blends from different farms in the region, not a true single lot.