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Color drenching is a decorating scheme in which you use only one color, using various shades of it for everything. Perhaps you’ve seen this implemented as a gray living space, a mauve or violet bedroom, or a blue study nook. Green is finally being used by homeowners and decorators in a similar way. 

Landscapers have begun implementing “green drenching” into outdoor spaces, especially on compact city lots. It has become quite popular. Think of a verdant green retreat in the yard. Omit the blossoms.

Green drenching is accomplished using green foliage, both evergreen and deciduous, in varying shades, sizes, and textures. Short shrubbery or groundcovers are layered in front of larger plants and shrubs, and taller plants are utilized in the back or up closer to the house. A few trees anchor it all together—so long as they are some shade of green.

Sizes and textures help create depth. Large, rough-textured plants in the back, with fine foliage in front or closest to the walk or viewing point, are fine examples of this technique, which can make a small yard look larger.

Shades of green create interest. How many shades are there? A whole bunch. According to country legend Hank Locklin, the Emerald Island called Ireland or Eire has “Forty Shades of Green,” as he recorded in song. I am sure we could create a lovely landscape using far fewer.

Numerous studies have shown that natural environments full of plants increase positive feelings and produce a sense of calm when immersed in them.

In landscaping, you utilize a palette of plants, not using paints and a brush. Think of it as using a new and different medium. Just like a sculpture, art with plants can look similarly amazing with the right eye and the right touch. It indeed is artwork if done well.

As I muse on all the cars zipping up the highway on a holiday weekend, I realize that travel is an escape everyone seems to be after. The feeling of escaping can be met by investing those travel dollars in landscape greenery.

Drenching an area in green is done with needles, leaves and height, and there is forest green, sage green, chartreuse green, and lots more to choose from. Locklin claimed Ireland had forty shades of green. Colorexplained.com says there are 99 shades of green. Color-meanings.com claims there are 134. (I bet somebody can come up with one or two more!) As many shades of green as you can dream up that you think you’d like to see at your place…that’s what you’ll use to drench your home in green. 

The result could be a green piece of paradise.

The author is a landscaper. Learn more at rockcastles.net.