Today, I write you good people from the semi-tropical island of Maui, Hawai’i. Just yesterday, I visited the breathtaking 10,023-foot summit of Haleakala and bicycled down to sea level with my two sons. Today, we’re off for an East Maui waterfall and rainforest hike. And then (sniff) home we go.

But I didn’t forget my weekly obligation to loyal followers of this video blog. In which, in keeping with the theme of my semi-tropical vacation, I show you how to set text in bright green flora.

Plus, it’s both effective and amazingly easy. Here’s the official description from lynda.com:

In this week’s free Deke’s Techniques video, Deke turns ordinary text into…a shrubbery! Well, a shrubbery that pokes through a fence anyway. But the fact is this relatively simple technique combines a text layer and a leafy photo into letters that appear to be made from foliage.

Deke begins by creating a mask from standard ordinary Myriad Pro text. Then he uses the Refine Mask command (in Photoshop CS5 or later—later meaning Photoshop CS6 beta) to render that text in realistically botanical glory. The refinement supplied by Refine Mask allows the leaves to gracefully manifest around the letter edges, providing some transparency and detail. Deke follows up this relatively simple procedure with some key layer effects (Drop Shadow and Inner Glow) and voila, leafy letters! It’s a quick, easy technique that has an abundance of potential uses.

You don’t have to use text for your mask; any shape outline will do. And if you’d like to go full topiary, Deke shows lynda.com members how to create the full ‘grown from the ground’ look in this week’s exclusive movie, aptly named “Creating Topiary Type in Photoshop.” All you need is a photo featuring some nicely textured plant life, and your Photoshop garden can grow to whatever shape you desire. In fact, since Deke is lounging in Hawaii this week and hasn’t so far climbed off his volcano to create a suitable graphic, I used the technique to create this tropical variation:

Deke will return from his island sojourn with another free technique next week.

My goodness, it makes me nostalgic for the sun-drenched beaches of Maui, and I’m still here.