In a year of change and new beginnings, Pantone’s 2022 Color of the Year, Very Peri is light-hearted and cheerful, fostering growth. And what better time and place to start something new than in your spring garden?
Fortunately, nature herself seems to love this playful periwinkle hue, giving gardeners myriad choices for exploring this on-trend color. Very Peri is bright enough to inject a splash of color or serve as a focal point as an accent plant, yet classic and complementary enough to be planted en masse or repeated throughout the landscape.
The following plants are the perfect picks for anyone looking to add Very Peri to their garden through bold blooms:
Agapanthus
While Agapanthus varieties range from crisp white to deep blues, Southern Living® Plant Collection has Very Peri picks aplenty! With a rich blue-purple coloring and dwarf size, Little Blue Fountain™ is perfect for gardens, patio containers and useful as a cut flower. This semi-dwarf, fast growing, drought tolerant agapanthus blooms very early and reblooms with multiple spikes of bright blue flowers. One of the nearest shades to true Very Peri, ‘Neverland’ Agapanthus is characterized by lilac buds and colorful variegated green foliage with chartreuse centers. For delicate, dancing blooms that are surprisingly tough and water-wise, Ever Sapphire™ Agapanthus offers a mesmerizing blue-lavender hue, while Ever Amethyst™ takes the same bold bloom and gives it a warmer purple punch.
Chef’s Choice Culinary Rosemary
When you hear “rosemary,” your thoughts may turn straight toward the pantry or dinner table, but the Very Peri periwinkle flowers of Chef’s Choice® Culinary Rosemary bring bonus color to this flavor-packed and easy-to-grow herb. This stellar variety was specially selected for its higher oil content and spicy flavor. With a compact, mounding habit and periwinkle flowers that emerge each spring, it shines in container, herb, and kitchen gardens.
Nectar Blue™ Salvia
The pollinators want in on the Very Peri party too! Give them a sweet treat this spring and summer with Nectar Blue™ Salvia, a heavy-blooming perennial with stunning periwinkle flowers. Salvia, a low-maintenance magnet for bees and butterflies, thrives in containers or in-ground plantings. Deer resistant and heavy blooming until frost, it’s well suited for the mid to back of borders in the landscape.
Summertime Blues™ Vitex
Very Peri scales new heights with the easygoing flowers of vitex, sometimes known as chaste tree. Whether grown as a shrub or small tree, the soaring lavender blooms of Summertime Blues make for a dazzling display in the warmer months. Maturing to 5–6′ high by 4–5′ wide, this vitex is an excellent choice for an easy-care ornamental privacy plant, hedge, or border. Summertime Blues thrives in full sun conditions and has low watering needs.
What to pair with Very Peri?
Thankfully, a wide range of hues complement this cheery color! One of the most vibrant pairings is a cherry or scarlet red – the warmer color dances with the cooler tones of periwinkle, creating a dazzling scene. Try the stunning scarlet It’s A Breeze® Red Rose (it’s hardy to zone 4, heat resistant AND bloom-packed!), or the three-season blooming Encore® Azalea Autumn Bonfire®, with a true red hue and verdant evergreen foliage.
Very Peri looks particularly good when paired with plants whose foliage has yellow undertones. ‘Sunshine Ligustrum,’ Touch of Gold® Holly, and ‘Lemon-Lime’ Nandina are sunny selections that fit the bill perfectly.
If you’re ready for a playful palette in the garden this spring, Very Peri will bring joy, color, and levity to your landscape!
