National Wave® Day

In 1995, the Wave brand shook the gardening world when PanAmerican Seed introduced the original Wave petunia, a spreading, easy-care flower that let everyday gardeners grow like pros. The brand grew into the most asked for plant brand ever, with consumer research showing 25 percent brand awareness among North American garden consumers. Wave petunias and Cool Wave pansies became famous for their easy, spreading color in window boxes, planters, baskets, and yards. To mark the brand’s 30th anniversary, PanAmerican Seed announced an official consumer holiday: the first-ever National Wave Day, celebrated on May 3, 2025, and taking place each year on May 3 ever since.

National Wave Day is described as a joyful reminder to slow down and appreciate beauty, growth, and connection, in your garden and in your life. The ways to join in are as cheerful as the flowers themselves. Wave encourages everyone to wear pink, host a potting party, plant something pink, or give a Wave petunia to a loved one. Garden centers and greenhouse growers join the fun too, with a downloadable Wave Promo Kit full of in-store videos, social media graphics, posters, banners, coloring pages, and event invitations, plus an Add Your Business tool that helps shoppers find stores carrying Wave plants nearby.

The 30th anniversary celebration brought an especially whimsical touch: Wave partnered with world-renowned photographer Anne Geddes, famous for her images pairing infants with flowers and nature, to create a tribute pairing babies with petunias. The collection features babies wearing Wave petunia inspired hats sitting in pink pots, celebrating the heartwarming connection between flourishing flowers and the wonder of new life. Fans could even enter a sweepstakes for a professional photoshoot with Geddes, and a limited-edition boxed postcard collection followed. Thirty years of color deserved a big party, and National Wave Day keeps that party blooming every May.

Growing Wave flowers is famously forgiving, which is part of why gardeners love them. Give them a sunny spot and regular water, and the spreading varieties will happily cascade over the edges of baskets and window boxes with little fuss. Unlike many petunias, Wave varieties rarely need deadheading to keep blooming, so the color keeps coming from spring plantings right through the season. Cool Wave pansies shine in the cooler weeks of spring and fall, and their cheerful faces can even garnish a plate, adding a floral touch to meals. Shoppers can find Wave plants at garden centers everywhere, and the Add Your Business tool on wavegardening.com helps locate stores carrying them nearby. The day also lands just before Mother’s Day, making a basket of Wave blooms a lovely way to honor a mom in your life ahead of the holiday.

Wave’s story is also a reminder of how much breeding innovation sits behind a simple pretty flower. PanAmerican Seed’s breeders spent years selecting for the spreading habit, weather tolerance, and nonstop blooming that made Wave famous. That work continues today, with new introductions joining the family, each one tested to perform for real gardeners in real backyards. The brand’s distinctive pink packaging has become a familiar sight in garden centers, a signal to shoppers that they are choosing a proven performer. More than thirty years after shaking up the gardening world, Wave remains what its fans have always said it is: the easy way to spectacular color.

Wave’s pink has become so iconic that the color itself is part of the celebration. Wearing pink on May 3 is the easiest way to join in, no garden required. Offices, classrooms, and garden clubs get into the spirit, and social feeds fill with pink blooms under the day’s hashtag. It is a small, cheerful uniform for a day devoted to beauty.

THE STORY BEHIND NATIONAL WAVE DAY

🌷 Thirty Years of Color
Wave petunias debuted in 1995 and changed home gardening, giving shoppers an easy, spreading petunia in the brand’s distinctive pink packaging. The family has grown to include Tidal Wave for big landscape beds, Easy Wave and E3 Easy Wave for versatile mixes and lush baskets, Shock Wave with petite blooms for high-impact containers, and Cool Wave pansies for cool-season color. Wave became the most asked for plant brand ever, with fans raving about its easy, spreading color and unbeatable garden performance. Thirty years of blooms was worth celebrating with a holiday of its own. Gardeners often say Wave was the first plant that made them feel like they knew what they were doing.

📆 A Brand-New Holiday
The first-ever National Wave Day took place on May 3, 2025, launched by PanAmerican Seed to mark the Wave brand’s 30th anniversary. It was designed as an annual tribute to the brand’s colorful legacy and its community of passionate gardeners, timed to the start of spring gardening season. National Wave Day spotlights the impact Wave petunias and Wave pansies have had in transforming outdoor spaces and inspiring a love of gardening for 30 years and counting. Every May 3, gardeners old and new are invited to join the celebration. The date lands at the perfect moment, just as garden centers fill with spring color.

📸 Babies and Blooms
For the 30th anniversary, Wave teamed up with Anne Geddes, one of the world’s most respected photographers, known for whimsical images combining infants with flowers. In true Geddes fashion, the collaboration produced photos of 13 babies wearing Wave petunia inspired hats sitting in pink pots. The partnership felt natural to both sides, sharing artistry, a love of color, and a drive to evolve. A sweepstakes gave one winner a professional baby photoshoot with Geddes, and a limited-edition boxed postcard collection let fans send the joyful images to friends. The images capture what the brand has always been about: new growth, hope, and possibility.

🪴 How Gardeners Celebrate
Celebrating is easy: wear pink, host a potting party, plant something pink, or give a Wave petunia to a loved one. Garden centers get in on the fun with regional potting parties, in-store displays, and sponsorships like the Philadelphia Flower Show. Free materials at wavegardening.com include an official National Wave Day badge, customizable party invitations, and coloring sheets. Whether you plant a whole bed or a single basket, the day is about happiness in the garden and sharing that joy with friends, family, and neighbors. Even apartment dwellers can join in with a single sunny window box.

WAYS TO CELEBRATE

🌷 Plant Something Pink
Add Wave petunias or pansies to your beds, baskets, or window boxes to kick off the gardening season. Their easy, spreading color makes even first-time gardeners look like pros. Cool Wave pansies are a great pick if spring nights are still chilly where you live.

🪴 Host a Potting Party
Invite friends over for a potting party and fill containers with Wave blooms together. It is gardening, socializing, and a little friendly competition over who makes the prettiest planter, all in one. Set out snacks, share extra seedlings, and send everyone home with a planted gift.

💖 Wear Pink and Share the Joy
Put on something pink, give a Wave petunia to someone you love, and share your blooms online with #NationalWaveDay. A little color goes a long way toward brightening someone’s day. A six-pack of Wave petunias costs little and says a lot.

Celebrate National Wave Day

On May 3, slow down, step outside, and let a little color into your life. Plant something pink, wear something pink, or hand a Wave petunia to someone who could use a smile. Thirty years of blooms have taught gardeners one simple truth: beauty grows best when it is shared. Happy National Wave Day, and happy planting. See you in the garden on May 3.