Green is a very special colour; it means so many things and can be seen in so many places. Our world may be the blue planet but green definitely makes its mark on it. Green is the predominant colour of the natural world, it means new life (think of the green shoots in Spring) and it creates a feeling of freshness and freedom. Scientifically, without the green chlorophyll in plants and trees, the process of photosynthesis wouldn’t happen and we wouldn’t breathe. See how important green is? It is everywhere and in honour of its presence, here are fifty shades of green for you to think about:
Green Feelings
- Tranquillity And Peacefulness – cool, minty shades that are subtle rather than vibrant help to calm us
- Refreshed – vibrant, crisp shades like lime green have a fresh feel and energise us
- Jealousy – the colour of envy, the green-eyed monster comes from the green tinge we get when ill; envy is an emotional disease
- Neutral – just like chemistry class, green means neutral; the balance between acid and alkaline, between blue and yellow, between anything. The green zone is the neutral zone.
- Naivety – people often use the expression “you’re green” to express a person’s naivety or immaturity; green and fresh
Precious Greens
- Emerald
- Green Jade
- Green Tourmaline
- Green Sapphire
- Aventurine (Green Quartz)
Green As The Norm
- Gardens – whether it’s the majestic trees, the delicate shoots of flowers, freshly mown lawns or synthetic grass lawns, green is the colour of the outside; the expanse of nature or the cultivated garden
- Money – green is often used as a colloquialism for money; though more relevant to the green paper notes of the USA, it is used in the UK
- Dinner – look at your dinner plate and see what is green; the salad, the broccoli, peas, herbs…so much green, so much goodness
- Traffic Lights – green means go and for that reason it may well be our favourite colour, it gives us freedom
- Wildlife – wildlife can be green too, there may not be any fluffy green bunnies wandering around but there are creatures dependant on green for camouflage such as crickets, grasshoppers, snakes, alligators…the list goes on but it’s a long list of green creatures, great and small
Green As The Novel
- Absinthe – no introduction needed, the green fairy (absinthe) is the hallucinogenic drink famed for its use as medicine, artistic inspiration and the fearful hallucinationsit causes
- Night Vision–green is the best colour for us to use in night vision technology as it is the colour our eyes are most sensitive to
- Green Screen – cartoons, CGI, animation and creative innovation of all kinds are created with green screen because it is the colour most easily manipulated with digital technology
- Aurora Borealis – the beautiful, mystical wonder that is the Northern Lights is created by gasses reacting above the atmosphere and the majority of those reactions produce brilliant green hues
- Green Eyes – a beautiful eye colour but a rare genetic trait with just 2% of the world’s population sporting green eyes (https://youreyecolour.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/green-eye-colour-rare-human-eye-colour.html)
Green Sayings
- You Got The Green Light – you have a yes, permission to proceed with your plans; go forth and conquer
- Off To Greener Pastures – you’re off to bigger and better things, you’ve gorged on all of the metaphorical grass in this pasture so you’re looking for new expanses of tastiness
- The Grass Is Always Greener – someone always has it better than you; no matter what lawn you’re on, you’re going to like the one next door more
- Go Green – eco-friendly and environmentally aware, those who go green are part of the mission to save our planet from pollution and all the nasty things associated with it
- You Have Green Fingers–you’re a natural talent, a gardener extraordinaire who can bring the trees and plants of the world back from the dead, if need be
Ok so there aren’t quite fifty shades of green here but this is just the tip of the green iceberg. There are hundreds of variations of green out there; whether it’s what shade, what use or what creature the green is associated with. Green covers more of the visible spectrum than any other colour, it is a perfect balance between warm and cool colours (yellow and blue) and it literally signifies life. Green is pretty impressive so keep an eye out and make sure you take it all in.
