Pantone’s 2021 Color is yellow against gray
As part of our landscaping work, Deck and Patio designers frequently receive requests for plants in the latest popular colors. So we won’t be surprised to be asked for plantings in the vein of Pantone’s Color(s) for this year: highlighter-yellow against architectural gray.
Choosing two contrasting colors is an unusual choice for Pantone. So it’s helpful to look at why they did this.
“In a time when we’ve had to insulate ourselves from the world and curl up in monochrome blankets at home, our gray is a dependable gray,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director at Pantone Color Institute.
And if Pantone’s gray evokes American’s mental state this year, their contrasting “bright, highlighter-yellow color is the light at the end of the tunnel, the sun rising over a dark landscape.”
Our own Dave Stockwell adds, “Light at the end of the tunnel is a great way to describe how some of our clients feel about the coming year. They’re not making landscaping plans just for living under COVID, but also for how they want things to be once they can invite lots of people back to their homes.”
Even if Long Islanders don’t have big plans for property upgrades, says Dave, many may wish to include touches of this year’s Pantone colors in their landscape plans. Dramatic yellow blooms set against gray paving stones, for example, could be one perfect way to bring that color combo into one’s yard.
Here are just two of many “gray” designs offered by paver manufacturers — in this case, Techo-Bloc, a popular company chosen by many Deck and Patio clients.
Techo-Bloc’s Industria Granitex
Techo-Bloc’s Industria Polished
Certainly, planting some dazzling yellow plants around such gray pavers (above) would be stunning, we believe.
Yellow-Gray Plantings
Another way to bring some Pantone hues to your property could be simply to choose plants that boast both of Panatone’s 2021 tones.
Silver Leaf Gazania
This low-growing ground cover plant with masses of silver leaves erupts in lots of yellow flowers during the year’s warmer months. It’s a truly hardy plant that can take even harsh conditions. Sometimes referred to as the African daisy, this plant needs little attention. We use this plant in combination with other low growers. They make a nice edge along the grass. Gazania grows to between 6 and 18 inches.
Silver Leaf Gazania
Santolina chamaecyparissus aka Cotton Lavender
This semi-woody plant, often called Cotton Lavender or gray Santolina, is an aromatic smallish shrub that boasts silvery gray foliate. It grows to 2-feet tall and 3-feet wide and you’ll see masses of yellow flowers in summer. “Householders may love drying the plants flowers for use in potpourris and also use it as a striking accent plant,” says Dave Stockwell. “Its leaves aren’t flat but three dimensional. We also use it as ground cover and is great weaved in between rocks,” says Dave.
Cotton Lavender/Santolina chamaecyparissus
Silver King Artemisia (Artemisia ludoviciana ‘Silver King’)
Another option is to choose a silvery ground cover planted next to bright yellow coneflowers, like the Silver King Artemisia. Be warned, it is a very aggressive plant, but with care it can enhance your garden. And its silvery foliage can act as accents in decorative wreaths. Ideal for filling in an area that can use some rapid expansive growth, all you need are some bright happy coneflowers or other yellow buds and you’re beautifully on trend.
Silver King Artemisia
