6 Simple Ways to Implement This Spring's Color Trends In Your Garden (2024)

With the start of each season comes a surge of new, popular colors sprouting up. These shades are often spotted on runways, in home decor, and yes—even in the garden.

This spring, expect whites, reds, and shades of soft pastels (think lilacs, yellows, and sky blues) to bring a fresh feel to outdoor spaces. While incorporating trending colors into your garden may seem more complicated than adding a couple new pieces to your wardrobe, Jarema Osofsky, landscape designer at Dirt Queen NYC and author of Moon Garden: A Guide to Creating an Evening Oasis, assures you it’s not that tricky.

Here are a few easy ways you can implement this season’s hottest colors into your garden without digging anything up .

Colorful Spring Bulbs and Ephemerals

Now that spring is officially here and frosty days are behind us (hopefully), spring bulbs and ephemerals (aka short-lived plants) are beginning to make an appearance.Osofsky says you should look to these types of plants for adding this year’s trending colors to your garden.

While it may be true that spring bulbs need to be planted in the fall to bloom during this time, you can still add some new seasonal flowers to your garden by getting established plants at your local greenhouse or garden center.

“For a native woodland garden setting, you can bring forth this pastel palette with blues from Virginia blue bells (Mertensia virginica), lilac hues from wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), whites and yellows from Bloodroot (Sanguinarea canadensis), and Dutchman’s breeches,” Osofsky says.

Use Hydrangeas for Shaded Gardens

If you're looking to extend spring’s trending palette throughout the whole growing season, plant some hydrangeas.

While hydrangeas typically flower in the late spring and summer, planting them in early to mid-spring helps them get established before blooming. Hydrangeas are also a shade-tolerant option that bring a pop of color, thriving in partially-shaded areas where most other prolific bloomers require full sun.

“Make a big impact with the chambray blue flowers of the mophead hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Endless Summer’) that will bloom all summer," Osofsky says. "Keep in mind that these voluminous flowers need acidic soil to maintain their blue color. In more alkaline soils they’ll turn beautiful shades of pale pink and purple—a win-win."

Moon Garden

Creating a moon garden isn't just an intentional way to bring in trending colors, it also aligns you with the universe. Moon gardens are a passion of Osofsky’s, who published her debut book on the topic (which we chose as one of the best coffee table books of 2024!).

Moon gardens are designed to be enjoyed in the evenings and nighttime: Plants and flowers are chosen based on how they will look when illuminated by the moonlight. Choose highly-fragrant blossoms to stimulate the senses when light is at a minimum.

“The pastel palette is perfect for a moon garden—whites, yellows, and pale colors are the most illuminated at night," Osofsky says, particularly calling out daffodils for their nighttime vibrance and delicate fragrance. "After dusk, especially on full moon nights, whites and pale yellows almost glow and pale silver-grays shimmer against the night sky."

Add a Lilac Bush or Tree

Lilacs are iconic spring blooms that fit right in with this year’s gravitation toward pastels.

“In mid-spring, lilacs in whites, pale pink, and—well—lilac, will be in peak bloom and can infuse your garden with heavenly fragrance and elegance," Osofsky says. "Plant a lilac by your front door to enjoy its sweet fragrance often."

Potted Pansies for the Porch or Patio

Whether you live in an apartment or simply want to spruce up your patio, Osofsky says that pansies displayed in pots and containers should be a go-to for giving a pop of color to any landscape. They're ideal for the unpredictable days of early spring since pansies thrive in cooler temperatures.

“Choose one of this year’s spring colors that brings you joy," she says. "If it’s cherry red—think Pantone’s Rooibos Tea, for example—buy a whole lot of pansies in that color and pot them up in terracotta pots. Style them in a spectrum on your patio, terrace, or surrounding your front door."

Not only are pansies beautiful and available in endless colors and patterns, they're also low-maintenance and perfect for container growing.

Try a Citrus Tree

Citrus trees are known to thrive in warm climates, but that doesn’t mean you need to write one off if you live somewhere with cold winters. You can grow many citrus trees in containers that you can move inside and out depending on the weather.

For the lucky gardeners who live in constant warmth, you should definitely have a citrus tree in your landscape. They won’t just add a pop of color to your garden in the late summer.

“Inhaling the divine scent of citrus blossoms, witnessing the fruit grow, and then harvesting it for a refreshing drink will be endlessly rewarding,” Osofsky says.

To channel this spring’s trending colors, consider the following citrus trees: key lime, Meyer lemon, sweet orange, bergamot orange, calamondin orange, and kumquat.