It’s Not Easy Being Green
“It’s not that easy being green
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow, or gold
Or something much more colorful like thatIt’s not easy being green
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things
And people tend to pass you over
‘Cause you’re not standing out
Like flashy sparkles in the water
Or stars in the skyBut green’s the color of spring
And green can be cool and friendly-like
And green can be big like a mountain
Or important like a river
Or tall like a treeWhen green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why
But why wonder why wonder
I am green, and it’ll do fine
It’s beautiful, and I think it’s what I want to be”
Sung by Kermit the Frog
Anything but green! Here in the Northwest we see green everywhere. We fight green and we push against it, insisting on contrast. We breathe green, we eat and drink green. It’s green all summer and green all winter. Are we spoiled? Surrounded by green? Everywhere, every day, every way, it’s green. We look past green. We don’t see it, we don’t notice it. Green is comfortable like an old friend. We wear it like our favorite jeans, like our skin. But, being human, we long to dress up. Put on the party clothes. Be different. We need the sparkles and the stars. I want some sparkles and some stars! But after the party of red and blue and yellow we realize we need our Northwest green. We can’t live without it. It would be sad and lonely if it were missing. We would be desperate to have it back. We transform from a feeling of melancholy to peace. Peace with our green.
Rainyleaf 
how funny since I welcome green because we are without it for many months…so I will actually be doing a green color post in March as we get the color of green back finally…
A ;year ago I had nothing but the barren twigs of WAY too many deciduous shrubs–I have made a mission to add pretty much only conifers and evergreen broadleaf plants to put an end to winter’s ‘brownout.’ Now it is a complete greenwash. Sigh. Such is the nature of northwest native plants. How I long for Cornus ‘Midwinter fire’ or Coral bark Japanese maple! Anything to add an exclamation of color!
The grass is always greener……We humans are so predictable, we always want what we don’t have!
I feel your pain…although, mine is brown!!! Ahhhh, to live someplace lush and not so dusty. Would it be too predictable to tell you I’m GREEN with envy?? 🙂
We do live in a pretty amazing part of the country, especially for gardeners!