Meet the 2019 Pantone Color of the Year – Living Coral

January 3, 2019 | By webadmin

Pantone recently announced their Color of the Year for 2019 – Living Coral - and we are excited! According to Pantone “Vibrant, yet mellow PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral embraces us with warmth and nourishment to provide comfort and buoyancy in our continually shifting environment. Representing the fusion of modern life, PANTONE Living Coral is a nurturing color that appears in our natural surroundings and at the same time, displays a lively presence within social media.” Living Coral “welcomes and encourages lighthearted activity” and “embodies our desire for playful expression”.

Photo courtesy of Pantone.com

Such a vibrant and fun color will be easy to incorporate into new and existing landscape designs. Use the color coral alone for bright impact, or mix it with complementary shades of blue and purple for a soothing and inviting color combination. Below, we’ve pulled together some of the best plants that exhibit the Living Coral shade.

Roses

First, let’s start with roses. There are many varieties of coral colored roses, but to get you started, both ‘Joe Woodard’ and ‘Easy Does It’ are the perfect shade of coral. Both varieties perform well in our Dallas climate. Roses are the perfect eyecatcher in sunny locations in your landscape. As always, when choosing to plant roses, you must keep a watchful out for Rose Rosette Disease.

Rose 'Joe Woodard' and 'Easy Does It'

Annuals

If you are looking for a cheerful annual to add a pop of coral color, choose Gerber daisies (also called Gerbera daisies). These plants are perfect for container gardening in the spring and the fall.

You’ll also find shades of coral represented in several types of diascia, verbena, calibrachoa, annual salvia, nemesia, New Guinea impatiens, and so many more.

Perennials

Coneflowers are one of our favorite perennial pollinator plants to use in butterfly gardens and drier sunny landscapes. Some of the best varieties around happen to be orange or coral in color. Terra Nova Nurseries has bred a lovely double coneflower called ‘Coral Reef’. Plant coneflower in full sun - with good drainage - in the middle of your perennial border for long-lasting color.

Another stand-out pollinator plant is Agastache. There are many varieties that toe the coral-peach-pink line & make wonderful, fragrant additions to the back of your perennial border.

Look for more perennial shades of Living Coral in perennial salvias, dianthus, intersectional peonies, heuchera, and more.

Bulbs

Your spring blooming bulbs can get in on the action also! Daffodil ‘Chromocolor’ is the perfect representation of Living Coral. The gorgeous salmon-coral cup is surrounded by a perfectly white petals for an amazing contrast. Plant en masse for best effect.

Color Combo Bonus: Living Coral pairs well with last year’s PANTONE Color of the Year, Ultra Violet. Can’t you just see some of these plants combined with Salvia ‘Amistad’ or Salvia ‘May Night’ in the landscape?

Each year, it is always a treat to see how the PANTONE Color of the Year will inspire landscape and interior design along with clothing for the next year. Living Coral is a playful, vivid color that will brighten up your landscape for years to come.