2019 Pantone Color of the Year: Living Coral
We are already a little over a month into 2019 and like all new years, the newness of the year tends to fade pretty quickly. Often resolutions are abandoned by this time of the year. It is easy for that “New Year, New Me” feeling to fade away as the days and weeks go by. However, we should not give up on celebrating the New Year so quickly, February is still very much part of the newest part of the year. Until we are 50% through the calendar year, one could say that the new year should still be celebrated. As we get further into 2019 I would like to take a moment to recognize and celebrate the 2019 Pantone Color of the Year: Living Coral!
You may ask what is the Pantone color of the year? The Pantone color system helps industries such as printing, design, paint, and plastics have a uniform system of matching colors used in design and products. According to the Pantone website for the past 20 years, their color of the year has influenced fashion, home, and industrial design, packaging and marketing. Therefore, the color of the year can be used as an influence in garden design, including incorporating it into your home garden beds, containers, and baskets!
Living Coral has been named the 2019 Pantone Color of the year; it is described by Pantone as “An animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge.” Living Coral was selected based on our ever-changing social climate “In reaction to the onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life, we are seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy.”
I can’t think of a more authentic and immersive experience than digging into the soil, planting bulbs and roots! Waiting for the bulbs and roots to sprout, and then waiting for blooms to appear—if that isn’t living I don’t know what is!
If you want to enjoy life a little more, get back to nature and add some energy to your garden try planting any of these 15 Coral Flowers to represent Living Coral the 2019 Pantone Color of the Year. Please note some of these flowers aren’t a 100% match with Living Coral, mainly because nature produced them so they aren’t going to match perfectly. However, they capture the overall essence and feel of Living Coral.
Top 15 Living Coral Flowers
Flamenco Trumpet Vine If you want to attract hummingbirds to your garden there are a few plants on this list of our top Living Coral plants that do a great job of attracting hummingbirds. The shape of Trumpet Vine blooms is ideal for attracting pollinators such as butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden. Flamenco Trumpet Vine has lively, warm, coral blooms on a tall vining plant. Flamenco Trumpet Vine can be used on a fence, post or trellis—be sure it has plenty of room to grow tall, as this lovely vine can reach heights up to 30’!
Flame Calla Lily While this calla lily may not scream coral, the two-toned orange and yellow blooms have plenty of shades of coral mixed in. Flame Calla Lily also compliments other true coral blooms well with its glowing energy.
Red Hot Orienpet Lily A warm and fiery hot lily with charming coral blooms. Orienpet Lilies are hybrid lilies with Trumpet Lilies and Oriental Lilies as their parents. They take the best characteristics of Trumpet Lilies and Oriental Lilies to create hardy, perennial, fragrant, showy and tall flowering lily plants. Red Hot Orienpet Lily is no exception to this rule, with fragrant coral blooms in mid to late summer; this lily does a marvelous job of representing Living Coral!
Extase Decorative Dahlia Energy and warmth radiate from the Extase Decorative Dahlia. The coral pink blooms are large 4” diameter and make for nice cut flowers. Another bonus about Extase Decorative Dahila is that it only grows 2’ tall at most. The shorter more compact habit of Extase Dahlia allows it to be planted in a wide variety of garden settings, from garden beds to patio planters this dahlia is a great way to represent Living Coral in your garden.
Hillary Itoh Hybrid Peony Since discovering Itoh Hybrid Peonies within the last couple of years, I am a bit obsessed with these showy beautiful perennial plants. Hillary Itoh Hybrid Peony has pink/coral blooms with tints of yellow and peach throughout! Hillary Peony is living her best life with showy 6” blooms, tall sturdy stems and a long bloom period. Add some bold, bright Living Coral color to your garden with Hillary Itoh Hybrid Peony.
Labyrinth Dahlia This dahlia represents the Living Coral color the best! Labyrinth Dahlia has shades of pink and peach giving off a vibrant coral color. The blooms on this dahlia can grow up to 8-10” in diameter when located in a sunny location, and pruned properly. Growing tip: To get the biggest blooms out of your dahlias remove any side buds so that one central bud forms, which will produce a larger flower when it opens.
Montego Bay Orienpet Lily What better representation of Living Coral than Montego Bay, a city on the coast of Jamaica? Montego Bay Orienpet Lily has strong tones of Living Coral in the large, and fragrant blooms that appear in mid-summer!
Salmon Lace Picotee Begonia Fully double rose-like blooms are salmon/coral with white edges on this shade-loving bulb. Begonias make great accent pieces in hanging baskets and patio planters, and the Salmon Lace Picotee Begonia is the perfect way to add Living Coral to any space!
City of Portland Tall Canna Canna lilies are known for their large bold leaves and colorful flowers. City of Portland Canna is a tall variety that grows up to 5’ tall when planted in full sun and provided plenty of water! Red canna lilies and yellow canna lilies are very common and popular cannas, but the coral blooms of City of Portland are unique and a great way to spice things up in a sunny border. Cannas can be grown in pots, as well as in the ground. Planting Tip: For best results when planting canna rhizomes the soil should remain dry until sprouts appear above ground.
Mirella Hardy Mini Gladiolus While Mirella Hardy Mini Gladiolus may be a bit more on the red-orange side than pure coral, Mirella does represent the tones of coral well. Reaching a maximum height of 2’ this gladiolus variety does not require staking which is a nice feature on a gladiolus bulb!
Awesome Luck Daylily This orange daylily has coral overtones throughout the blooms. Blooming in mid-summer, this daylily looks hot when combined with Double Passion Daylily and Early bird Cardinal Re-Blooming Daylily. Daylilies are easy to grow when planting Awesome Luck Daylily; you can use luck even if you aren’t the most awesome at gardening:)
Myrtle’s Folly Dahlia I have been a bit obsessed with this dahlia since Holland Bulb Farms started carrying it a few years ago. The twisted and ruffled petals add so much texture to the garden. The colors, which when combined, represent Living Coral well, are eye-catching, fun, and bright! Pink and peach petals combine for a stunning color combination that fully embodies the bright energy represented by Living Coral.
Coral Sunset Peony With blooms that can be described as the color of a coral summer sunset Coral Sunset Peony has strong tones of Living Coral! The blooms are semi-double and start out coral and fade to creamy yellow on this early blooming peony variety. Peonies are dependable perennials that will last for 75+ years once established. Coral Sunset Peonies blooms are showy, fragrant and occur in mid-spring in hardiness zones 3-8.
Major Wheeler Honeysuckle Major Wheeler Honeysuckle has showy coral blooms and is superior in attracting hummingbirds to your garden. Major Wheeler Honeysuckle begins to bloom in summer and keeps putting on a show until the first frost of the year.
Nora Barlow Columbine As part of the Barlow series of Columbine, which include blue, black, white and ruby, the Nora Barlow Columbine represents the color of Living Coral well. The fully double blooms which are standard on Barlow Series Columbine have white blooms that have pink/coral centers. These dainty flowers bloom in mid to late spring and thrive in partially shaded gardens.
If you have a warm color scheme in your garden already (colors like reds, yellows, and oranges) it will be easy to incorporate Living Coral into your garden. If your garden has cool colors (blues and purples) flowers with coral tones can still be incorporated, either in patios on pots, or by using more pink coral blooms as opposed to orange coral blooms in your garden. If you are feeling that you want to incorporate Living Coral into your garden for 2019 check out this Shimmering Sunset Collection created inspired by Pantone’s Living Color suggested color combinations: