New York, June 25 -- All-green gardens are becoming popular again as the centerpieces of monochromatic landscaping. The designs are appealing and restive, driven as they are by massed ferns, moss, leaves, bark, berries, rock and foliage combinations. They serve some practical purposes, too.

"Cool, mossy and damp, small space woodland gardens bring a welcome sense of organic Zen and a respite from digital overload, especially in dense urban areas where they can help to mitigate the effects of pollution," said Elka Karl, a spokeswoman for Monrovia Nursery Co., based in Azuza, California.

"It's like bringing 'forest bathing' to the city with mixes of ferns, mosses, coral bells, hostas and anemones in high-contrast, almost unnatural places ...