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COLOR: The Unspoken Language
Understanding Green
By Sheri Miller AIFD
As florists, green is a color we know especially well. Afterall, most leaves and stems fall into this color category. This ties into knowing the fecundity and lushness of green and its relationship to nature. To give you a brief taste of green to start with, it is the color of nature, balance and empathy for others. Green sooths the emotions, calms stress and gives security and protection. Remember “institutional green” and how many hospital interiors have been green for years? There is another thinking behind this that involves the complementary color to green. What color is blood? That’s right! So you can see the logic of green hospital interiors and operating rooms. Calming, soothing, nurturing and red’s complement. Is your favorite color green? If so, you are a conventional individual who prefers a balanced, secure life and who appreciates nature.
Think of the spring we have around us at this time of year. Lush, verdant, greens of every variation ranging from light green to chartreuse to darker greens – and everything in between. Green also represents new life, as does spring. Think of the meaning of the phrase “green thumb.” We associate this with people who are exceptional gardners and have the ability to easily get plants to grow beautifully. Green is a secondary color created from yellow and blue. Blue contributes insight and vision while yellow provides clarity and optimism. You could wear green to promote generosity of both spirit and possessions. Green can also help aid memory. Wearing or being surrounded with green can stimulate recall. An overemphasis of green can create a difficulty of dealing with upsetting memories. It is a creative color.
Green is an abundant color. Just think of the color of money!
Here are a few words that describe green: growth, fruitful, talented, fresh, lucky, generous, loving, abundant, verdant, prosperity, harmony, balance, new life, spring, and hope.
On the flip side green can depict mold and decay. Because of this green is associated with life and death. This is why some consider green lucky and others consider green unlucky. Some folks refuse to drive green automobiles, believing the green vehicles are more prone to accidents. This may come from a past belief in Western Europe that green was the favorite color of fairies. Not the nice friendly fairies, but ones with potent and willful powers that could condemn a person to bad luck if they wore green.
In several Celtic languages and Chinese tradition, green and light blue are interchangeable. In Feng Shui green is a symbolic color of an heir or fortune. It also has association of a downpour of rain that fertilizes the earth. Green can also symbolize flash floods and lightning strikes. Animals associated with green are the eagle, swallow, cicada, and the dragon.
If we look at the psychology of green, it is a great harmonizer. It is associated with emotions, in both positive and negative manors. Just think of the statement “Green with envy.” People who are influenced by green are able to see both sides of any question and usually have a strong moral sense of right and wrong. They may be judgmental although their efforts are idealistic and selfless.
Green soothes emotions and is good for general healing such as restoring the body cells because of its associations with new life and growth. Its primary organ is the heart. Green is also associated with the thymus gland, the lower lungs, the chest and the shoulders. Color therapists use the color green to combat fatigue. Green can also be used to combat nausea. It can help in restoring balance and soothing away headaches. Green can help claustrophobia and is helpful in coming to terms with traumatic memories. Theatre performers would wait in the “green room”, a room painted green to calm their nerves prior to their performance. It can aid heart and lung problems and dissolve blood clots. In a negative direction, it can bring about stagnation, repression and feelings of jealousy.
Good rooms to paint green are studies and home offices where concentration is necessary. Green with a yellow base is an uplifting color. New growth. Green can provide an expansive quality to a room. Greens with a blue base take on a restful quality. This color green is good for rooms dedicated to relaxation.
Green foods bring about harmony for the body. Green is a color of balancing energy and is important in your daily diet. Green foods are a good source of soluble fiber, their juices cleanse the blood of toxins and aid the function of the lymphatic system. Green foods can regulate blood pressure and balance acidic/alkaline levels. Some green foods are grapes, kiwi, limes, applies, broccoli, leafy greens, lettuce, zucchini, peas, and avocado. Broccoli is high in antioxidant vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene. Being rich in folate and iron, it can help prevent anemia. Avocado is high in vitamin E, which is essential for healthy blood, tissue, and cells.
In nature, green works well with most other colors. Isn’t this interesting since for us florists, green is almost considered a “neutral.” We work with green all the time since so many leaves and stems are green. Some green flowers are Bells of Ireland, Calla Lilies, Carnations, Mums such as Kermits and Disbuds, Euphorbia, Gladiolus, Hydrangea, Hypericum, Lady’s Mantle, Orchids, Roses, Viburnum.
When would it be beneficial to design with green flowers? Thinking of green as the color complement to red, if a person had just undergone a surgery a green arrangement would be a good color selection as well as being restful. Greens work well with all other colors and fit well into plans for weddings, parties, sympathy flowers; flowers for the young and old, flowers for a male or female. Even though green is such a constant in our design work, take a fresh look at green. With this new knowledge, where can you as a designer use the green family more effectively and creatively in your own work?
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