2021 will be a year full of color. Here are ways to add it to your plant collection.

What is the Pantone Color of the Year for 2021?

Every year, Pantone announces their top colors. This annual declaration inspires the world to seek out decor, clothing, makeup, and garden supplies that align with the hues in the news. The colors of 2021 are (drumroll, please): Ultimate Grey and Illuminating Yellow!

Ultimate Grey is the color of concrete and clouds rolling in. Illuminating Yellow is the color of a daffodil growing through the concrete's cracks and the sun's first rays after the clouds pass. It's the perfect metaphor for emerging out from under the shadow that was 2020. These colors represent an uplifting hope and a reminder of our resilience. If you're like us, you've used that hope to invest a lot more time and effort into your home and houseplants. As you look to the year ahead, here are some ways to let the Pantone 2021 colors of the year shine in your houseplant collection.

Pots and Plant Stands

One way to incorporate the colors of the year into your houseplant set-up is by swapping out your pots and stands for some in hues of yellow and grey. 2021 will feature a wide variety of concrete and clay pots for grey. Even when you are working in a monochromatic palette, you can get creative with size and textures. If you want your pots to have a pop of color, select shades of yellow or paint the pots yourself. Don't forget about your plant stands and furniture. Paint or stain them in one of the colors of the year to be a more permanent fixture in your home.

Grow Lemons Indoors

When life gives you lemons, why not put them in your living room? We may not all have lemon groves nearby, but, under the right conditions, you can grow your own inside! Lemon trees need plenty of light, proper fertilizing and may need to be repotted a few times before they bear fruit. When the fruit starts to form, they will treat you to bright, beautiful, zingy gems that illuminate your home.

Yellow Bromeliads

Bromeliads are large star-shaped flowers that make quite a statement. They come in a diverse range of shades, but this year we suggest selecting a standout yellow shade to brighten your environment. Bromeliads are quite easy to care for. They will hardly ever need repotting, and they have their own life and death cycle where they die after blooming and reproduce all within one pot.

Snake Plant, Sansevieria Laurentii

This plant is one of the hottest houseplants around and one of the easiest to take care of. The bright yellow strips that run up the edges of the leaves are the perfect yellow hue. Moderate to low light, very tolerant of neglect, and is ok with infrequent watering.

Aluminum Plant

Aptly named, the Aluminum plant most notably features a raised silver splotch pattern against its green leaves. The plant is in the Pilea family, and so it enjoys medium-moist soil and proper fertilization. They have modest white blooms, but their leaves are some of the most unique you'll find. These beauties grow well in hanging baskets and would be a beautiful plant to let crawl along with the furniture.

Lithops, Living Stones

These rare little desert succulents look just like their name suggests. Living stones come in shades of gray and really look like stones. Like most succulents, they like bright and sunny locations and dry soil conditions. Be careful not to overwater. Many other houseplants and garden plants can echo the sunny yellow and contrasting gray that will be everywhere for 2021.

If you need help adding color to your houseplant collection, we'd love to talk about Pantone's colors of the year in Bettendorf. Please come visit us!