While there are shades of Vivid Magenta (the Pantone colour of the year for 2023) for just about every season it can be hard to think about how to combine such a vibrant colour with other flowers and foliage in the garden. Do you favour the cool end of the red spectrum or do you love the warm colours or perhaps just looking to mix it up? Home Décor magazine has come up with four ideas or colour palettes for Vivid Magenta, which they’ve called Equilibrium, Family Ties, Ignite and Resonance.

Equilibrium – combining warm and cool shades

As Vivid Magenta is a shade that spans both the warm and cool reds Equilibrium pulls both ends of the spectrum together. Using warm oranges such as Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ or Crocosmia ‘Orange Pekoe’. Mixed in with pinks of Achillea millefolium ‘Cerise Queen’, paeonies in Vivid Magenta (Paeonia ‘Buckeye Belle’) and shades of pink (Bowl of Beauty). Along with the cool lilac of Penstemon ‘Sour Grapes’ and the blues of Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata ‘Blue Barlow’ and Geranium ‘Brookside’.

Equilibrium planting combinations

Family Ties – shades of pink

Family ties is the perfect grouping if you love pink! Ranging from pale blush through to maroon with a hint of brown thrown in.  For the ultimate brown and pink combination Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ with its bare branches and pink flowers in winter. Underplanted with jewel like cyclamen to add in a hit of magenta. Adding in splashes of pink in spring and summer from Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, Achillea millefolium ‘Cerise Queen’ and Anemone hupehensis ‘Hadspen Abundance’. Geraniums are one of my go to plants, with many of them having a long flowering season.  Pink varieties are easily available from Geranium x oxonianum ‘Wargrave Pink’ to the pale pink of Geranium ‘Mavis Simpson’. Not forgetting the magenta, perhaps the small flowers of Sanguisorba ‘Tanna’, the vibrant Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Dazzler’ or Astrantia major ‘Claret’.

Family Ties: Pink planting combinations with a hint of magenta

Ignite – Vivid Magenta is the star

Making Vivid Magenta the star colour in a scheme Ignite really makes it standout with pale neutrals behind it. Using a palette of greens, pale blues, pale pinks and pale yellows. Grey green foliage found on many salvias is the ideal backdrop, particularly the culinary herb of Salvia officinalis or Salvia officinalis ‘Purpurascens’ with the flush of purple on some leaves. Or maybe the soft leaves of Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’ (commonly known as lamb’s ears). Stachys byzantina ‘Big Ears’ is a larger variety with pale pink flowers, giving you two of the colours in the scheme with one plant. Mixed in with the orange-yellow of Achillea terracotta and the pale blues of Iris ‘Jane Phillips’ and Agapanthus ‘Lavender Haze’ or Golden Drop with its variegated foliage. All set off with a calming green background of grasses, perhaps Deschampsia cespitosa with flower spikelets that turn golden brown in autumn.

Ignite: Plants in pale shades with Vivid Magenta

Resonance – a sumptuous border of jewels

The final palette is Resonance, a sumptuous collection of jewel colours, including deep purples, red, blues and greens. Mixing in with the Vivid Magenta of Lupinus ‘Masterpiece’ or Dahlia ‘Downham Royal’ with the deep violet of Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’. Bringing in the blues of Agapanthus ‘Midnight Sky’ or Iris ‘Dusky Challenger’ and the purples of Penstemon ‘Raven’ or Iris ‘Bishop’s Robe’ All set off with a deep green backdrop of yew hedging. To add height to the garden clematis have an amazing array of deep velvet colours, the magenta of Clematis ‘Warsaw Nike’ intertwined with the purple of Clematis ‘Etoile Violette’ or Polish Spirit.

Resonance: Jewel coloured planting combinations

Blending Vivid Magenta into your garden

If you would like more help in establishing a colourful garden or border, I offer a planting plan service.

About the author

Camilla Grayley is an experienced garden designer, speaker and writer based in York. She designs gardens and delivers garden consultancy services for clients in Yorkshire and across the UK.

Get in touch on 01904 670330 or info@camillagrayleydesign.com