On Gardening: Pantone goes peach, a perfect colour for the garden

Peach Fuzz is Pantone's Color of the Year for 2024. Superbena Peachy Keen verbena exhibits all the colours similar to a monochromatic chip card. Photos: Chris Brown Photography/TNS

Amelia Nash just wrote an article for printmag.com and her headline was exactly my thoughts too: "Pantone is Keeping Things Warm, Fuzzy and Peachy Keen for 2024."

The article is great, and you could sense her excitement over the new colour of the year, and The Garden Guy couldn’t agree more!

So, if you haven’t seen the announcement anywhere, Pantone, the gurus of all things colour, has designated Peach Fuzz the 2024 Colour of the Year. I’ve been writing about Pantone’s Colour of the Year and giving the selections a relationship to the garden and flowers for several years.

I have felt a bit lonely in this endeavour as only a few companies joined in to promote their flowers that were a good match. This year, however, it has been like a wake-up call. Even before I knew about Peach Fuzz, I was getting posts from all of the major suppliers joining in the idea, showing off their varieties that were a close match to Peach Fuzz.Superbena Peachy Keen verbena is a perfect match for the Peach Fuzz Color of the Year and offers a floral ground cover. Photo: Chris Brown Photography/TNS

This is where Amelia Nash hit it out of the park with her headline stating "Peachy Keen". Peach and particularly the Pantone designation of Peach Fuzz 13-1023 has to be one of the rarest colours in the garden. It is the colour we suggest to those garden club ladies who get heart palpitations at the thought of flaming colours like Electric Orange.

Peachy Keen, you see, is a variety of Superbena verbena. The initial florets of the flower cluster may show a richer, more saturated peach but it is not long that you see the array that Proven Winners (a plant retailer) describes as peach tones from apricot to cream.

This verbena gets up to 12 inches (30.5cm) tall with a 24-inch (61cm) spread. In my zone 8 garden I expect it to be perennial until its not. Usually, I will get three to four years of glorious colour and butterflies. It would probably go longer if I did better at cutting back.

The site colorxs.com has the best explanation and visual examples teaching the colour scheme and harmonies with Peach Fuzz. Their monochromatic chart or display is the perfect lesson on what we as garden gurus or horticulturists try to teach on toning down hot oranges with peach, coral, salmon and cream. As you look at what is really similar to a paint store chip card, you realise Superbena Peachy Keen blossoms have all the colours on the monochromatic card.Flavorette Honey-Apricot is a new shrub rose making its debut in 2024. The heirloom look and Peach Fuzz colour make this rose a winner. Photos: Norman Winter/TNS

Then there is yarrow. It is among the toughest flowers for the garden: persevering, colourful and magical with pollinators. Did you know they are not on the Bambi menu? Firefly Peach Sky is probably new to you. In fact, I find it amazing that garden centres don’t have shelves of yarrow. Start sourcing Firefly Peach Sky. It can reach almost 3ft (0.9m) in height with a 32-inch (81cm) spread.

Meant to Bee Queen Nectarine agastache is a must-have plant, even if you aren’t a colour scheme aficionado. You will be able to tell your friends oh yes, it is the Pantone Colour of the Year. All the while you will be growing it for its beauty, bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. It is an award winner, and will reach 3ft (0.9m) tall and wide.

If you look at the analogous colour scheme on the colorxs.com site you will notice that Meant to Bee Royal Raspberry agastache is a perfect partner with Queen Nectarine, or whatever your peach flower choice.

There is one more flower however that will bring rose lovers to their knees. It is Flavorette Honey-Apricot, making its debut in 2024. If Empress Josephine were alive today this rose would be at her Malmaison garden.Superbena Peachy Keen verbena is seen here in front of SunPatiens Compact Electric Orange impatiens and Fresh Look Yellow celosia.

It looks as antique or heirloom as any rose in the market. Its fragrance demands you cut and bring it indoors. It is disease-resistant and, believe it or not, its petals are edible and delightful for the culinary artist. You can celebrate this as the focal point in your garden as it can reach 8ft (2.4m) tall and 4ft (1.2m) wide.

You’ve got time to plan and source your flowers and join the celebration of Peach Fuzz the Pantone Colour of the Year. – Tribune News Service