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Choosing a color scheme for your garden is a fun approach but can feel challenging at times. That’s why many gardeners love to track the garden color of the year announced by design experts annually. It’s a helpful way to gather design ideas and be inspired about a new hue. Often, the color chosen reflects the current cultural mood and influences design decisions that set the tone for the entire year ahead. It also encourages people to tap into new perspectives about color to help shape their homes.
For more than 20 years, the Garden Media Group has been picking a “Color of the Year” to include in their annual trends report focused specifically on the lawn and garden industry. For 2026, they chose a color named “faded petal.”
Learn why faded petal is the top color choice this year, what it embodies as a color, and how to incorporate faded petal into your garden design.
Why Faded Petal Is the 2026 Garden Color of the Year
Faded petal is a soft, delicate pink shade. Some might refer to it as blush or ballet slipper pink. In general, pink flowers are associated with love, gratitude, appreciation, and admiration. Lighter shades of pink, in particular, represent gentleness and innocence. Faded petal exemplifies romanticism, sophistication, and relaxation, a stark contrast to Barbie Pink and Millennial Pink, which made a splash a couple years ago.
“In 2026’s designs and gardens, faded petal will embody subtle luxury, refined coziness, nostalgia, and romanticism,” says the Garden Media Group report. The report also mentions how the color echoes the popularity of the Nancy Meyers era and the brand LoveShackFancy, as the search term “Nancy Meyers’ home” has increased by 9,900 percent since 2020 and doubled since 2024. This muted shade differs from 2025’s color of the year—teal—and particularly resonates with Millennials and Gen Zers who are looking for authenticity and understated elegance.
Another reason that Garden Media Group is attracted to this color now is that Kusumi colors are a huge hit in Asia and making their way across the globe. They are dusty, gently muted colors that express nostalgia and an organic feel and are rooted in nature. According to the Garden Media Group report, Kusumi colors capture the beauty of faded clothing or pressed flowers, objects mellowed by time. They noticed how major brands and their products such as Anthropologie, Fender guitars, and Baggu bags are embracing these sophisticated shades, and knew they would be perfect in the garden as well.
Faded petal pairs well with earthy tones, lush green foliage, and textures like weathered wood or vintage pottery. Plus, a whisper of pink, as we find with faded petals, is known to coordinate well with green hues, so it’s perfect for a garden setting.
Choosing Faded Petal Plants for Your Garden
Fortunately, there are many lovely plants that come in the faded petal color to add in your garden, no matter what style you are looking to achieve.
1. Hellebore (Helleborus spp.)
Photo: DEA / RANDOM / Contributor/De Agostini via Getty Images.
The hellebore, often called the Christmas rose or Lenten rose, is a hardy perennial plant that brings beauty to winter and early spring gardens when most other flowers have faded. Native to Europe and Asia, this plant starts blooming during winter months in warmer climates and transitions to spring flowering in cooler regions. Hellebore flowers grow in a number of colors, so look for faded pink or plum varieties such as Merlin or Flower Girl.
Hellebore produces elegant 2- to 3-inch blossoms in a cup shape that resemble roses. Growing between 12 and 15 inches tall, this plant prefers organic fertilizer and high shade, which means beneath trees that have no low branches. Take note that this plant is toxic and should be handled with caution.
Hardiness Zones: 5-8
Best For: Cottage gardens, winter gardens, or woodland gardens where they grow in partial to full shade with well-draining soil.
2. Pink Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
Photo: Star Roses and Plants
Recommended by Garden Media Group, American Lace Pink Hydrangea is timeless, graceful, and native to North America, so it does a great job attracting pollinators. This plant is unique since it produces more flowers than other smooth hydrangea varieties. Also, it has sturdier stems that keep its large blooms from flopping over. Pink hydrangea does well in full sun to partial shade and will grow to a mounded size of 4 to 5 feet high and wide.
Hardiness Zone: 3 to 8
Best For: Growing under windows or along the house and for planting in a group.
3. Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
Photo: Westend61 via Getty Images.
These tall plants showcase large bell-shaped blossoms in many colors, including several varieties in pale pink, making them a classic in cottage gardens. They are delicate and charming while offering a dramatic and whimsical theme to a garden. Look for pinks closer to faded petal like Double Salmon or Majorette Double Champagne. Blooms last from summer to early autumn and attract pollinators. This plant enjoys full sun or partial shade, well-draining soil, and cooler climates. They can grow between 3 and 8 feet tall.
Hardiness Zone: 3 to 9
Best For: Cottage garden or adding height at the back of a cut garden.
4. Sugar Tip Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus ‘America Irene Scott’ Sugar Tip)
Photo: Photos from Japan, Asia and othe of the world/Moment via Getty Images.
Rose of Sharon is a hibiscus plant that offers a tropical flair with its fluffy flowers. Look for a variety with soft pink double blooms like Sugar Tip, which also stands out for its creamy white and green variegated foliage. It blooms all summer and is both heat and drought tolerant. This plant is perfect for a native garden, as it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Rose of Sharon prefers full sun to partial shade and well-draining soil, and can grow from 6 to 10 feet tall, though Sugar Tip will probably top out at 6 feet high and wide.
Hardiness Zone: 5 to 9
Best For: A focal point in the garden or as a flowering privacy hedge.
5. Angelique Tulip (Tulipa ‘Angelique’)
Photo: DEA / C. SAPPA / Contributor/De Agostini via Getty Images.
This award-winning tulip has peony-shaped pale pink double blooms that live for an extremely long time. Growing up to 18 inches tall, it blooms in late spring. Note that the flowers can be damaged in extreme weather conditions like heavy wind and rain, so choose a sheltered location to plant them. These flowers thrive in full sun and rich, fertile soil that drains well. It prefers cool winters and warm, dry summers. Plant the tulips in groups for the best visual impact. Note that they are toxic to cats and dogs.
Hardiness Zone: 3 to 8
Best For: Garden beds, containers, and landscaping borders.
6. Ivory Blush Rose (Rosa Hybrid ‘Meimeigea’)
Photo: Southern Living Plant Collection
Recommended by Garden Media Group, It’s A Breeze Ivory Blush Rose is a tough but attractive ground cover rose that resists both heat and disease. Abundant blooms appear in the spring and then return in the fall. It’s also known for its attractive dark green glossy foliage. At maturity, the low-growing rose can reach 3 feet high, so it works well in a layered garden bed design. This plant thrives in full sun.
Hardiness Zone: 4 to 11
Best For: Accents, borders, low hedges, containers, or mass plantings.
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