The standard advice among fashionistas is to invest in classic clothing basics, such as jackets and pants, and indulge in trends on less expensive items like purses, scarves and fun tops. This advice applies to gardens, too, and in 2024 that means adding some peach blooms to your containers and flowerbeds.

The 2024 Color of the Year is Peach Fuzz, a soft peachy apricot color that is described as cozy, serene, warm and heartfelt. The color of the year is selected each year by Pantone, a company that watches trends around the world to assist designers in choosing color. Peach Fuzz is a muted tone that blends well with dark foliaged plants and deeply colored containers. Masses of peach fuzz flowers will make your garden feel comfortable and peaceful. The easiest way to incorporate Peach Fuzz in your garden is through annual plants, which are less expensive and can be replaced next year when something else is in style.

For instance, add Celosia Celway Salmon to your cutting garden or flower beds. The fluffy blooms will add texture to any bouquet. The plants grow 2 feet tall and love lots of sun. Other annuals that would look great in bouquets or in the garden include Salmon Rose or Zinderella Peach zinnias. Or edge a bed in peach-colored impatiens such as Lollipop Peach Salmon or Patchwork™ Peach Prism, which has a two-toned flower.

If you like dahlias, many varieties come in peach, coral and similar shades to give your garden a hint of Peach Fuzz. You can even find peach tones in coleus, such as ‘Peach Julep,’ a 12-inch-tall variety with peach leaves edged in red and green. Lots of begonias feature peach colors, such as Peach Falls or Picotee Lace Apricot.

If you want to make peach a more permanent presence in your garden, several new perennials will give you peach year after year. Achillea ‘Firefly Peach’ is a USDA Zone 3-hardy yarrow with soft peach blooms. It grows 2 to 2½ feet tall and is attractive to bees and butterflies, but not deer or rabbits. Give it full sun and it will produce peachy blooms all summer. Or, try Astilbe ‘Peach Blossom’ in your shade garden. It’s hardy to zone 4 and the flower spikes are covered with tiny peach blooms. It’s a great plant to brighten up a dark spot, and deer don’t bother astilbe.

I could not end this blog post without mentioning my favorite peach-colored bloom that I grew as a test plant last summer. Flavorette™ Honey-Apricot rose is an edible rose that will be in garden centers for the first time in 2024. The plant grows beautifully, even in a container, and the blooms are soft shade of apricot-peach. Mine bloomed prolifically and was the prettiest plant I grew last summer. You can also eat the rose, which had a mild flavor. This is a shrub-type rose, hardy to zone 4, and in the landscape can get up to seven feet tall, though with pruning can be kept much shorter. If you love roses, this is a great one to try.

The plant sales will be starting soon. See how many trendy peach plants you can spot!

Mary Lahr Schier is the author of The Northern Gardener: From Apples to Zinnias (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2017). Follow her on Instagram at @mynortherngarden_mary.