Fall is a great time for container planters and there are so many great fall festive ideas! But it’s not all work-work-work when you decorate for fall. Here are some key tips for creating great fall containers for your porch, patio, or garden:

 

  • Combine Textures
  • Add Height
  • Add Variety of Color
  • Forgo Flowers or Add to Flowers with Foliage
  • Use Gourds for a Harvest Feel
  • Accent with Branches and Twigs
  • Bold Colors
  • Very Full, Overflowing Containers
  • Include Dried Flowers
  • Contrast Lights and Darks
  • Capitalize on Fall Colors
  • Add Accessories (décor, birdhouses, gnomes…)
  • Mix Foliage, Flowers, and Fruit
  • Choose One Color and Use Different Shades

 

When you are creating your containers, think outside the pot with several container options that inspire you to decorate for fall:

 

  • Pots
  • Planters
  • Baskets
  • Hollow logs
  • Wire baskets
  • Bamboo
  • Covering basket or pots with birch bark
  • Crockery
  • A Wheelbarrow
  • Buckets
  • Metal

 

Different containers can either be in keeping with the feel of your garden or stand out as a surprise element. Landscapes evolve every year. Many people add a new element to their landscape each year. Maybe a paver path, a new berm, or a stone patio. But back to letting you plan and decorate for fall. Once you have your container picked out, you are ready to fill it!

 

Foliage is a strong element when you decorate for fall

 

 

As fall comes and your containers begin to look tired, spruce them up with fresh foliage. The foliage will carry the container farther into the colder weather as well. Have fun with some plants you might never have considered before. Try ornamental kale, ivy, lamium, herbs, lamb’s ear, or dusty miller. You could even use evergreen planters and update them throughout the year with seasonal filler flowers.

 

Flowers

 

Add pop and sparkle to your foliage with festive fall annuals such as mums, pansies, asters or zinnia.

 

Add Height

 

Using containers of varying heights and shapes, and different heights of plants in your containers will provide interest and carry the eye. Branches and twigs are a great way to add some height.

 

Add Texture

 

Add variety of textures in your container by adding foliage, grasses, branches, and flowers. The key here is variety to add interest! Even small pumpkin gourds sitting among your plants can add variety, and it makes it really easy to decorate for fall.

 

Here are some other fun ideas to inspire you!

 

Snapdragons

 

Nothing says fall like candy corn, and snapdragons look just like it! Add in some purple nemesia for contrast and you are ready for the autumn days!

 

Go Big!

 

Base your planter on a pumpkin for a fun fall look! Use bittersweet, branches, moss, and ivy surrounding your pumpkin. Some flowering kale gives a great contrast as well!

 

Pumpkin Pots

 

We have all hollowed out a pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern but have you every hollowed one out for a pot? It makes a perfect container for planting fall flowers and foliage. Try planting some coral bells and they will thrive on colder temperature as the become brighter in color.

 

Gourd-geous

 

Add mini gourds, mini squash, or mini pumpkins to your containers to bring out the fall festive look!

 

Cabbage Basket

 

A large basket can serve as a planter as well! Fill it with flowering cabbage and it will look better and better as the weather turns cool and the colors deepen.

 

Purple Fountain Grass

 

Who says the grass is always greener!? Fill your planter with purple fountain grass and it will last well past the first frost and left in the pot, will provide some winter beauty. Add some creeping wirevine in a metal planter for a simple arrangement with contrasting textures and a modern look.

 

Succulents

 

Grab a wire basket and fill it with succulents such as hens and chicks to last all through the fall with little care. Transplant them before the hard freeze and you can move them right inside.

 

Peppers

 

Peppers have a playful look and thrive in a container. When they turn red and ripe, cut them and use them in cooking, grind them for spice or hang them to dry.

 

Heucheras

 

Heucheras come in great colors and are very hard to kill. They look great alone but also play well with many other plants. Most heucheras can handle sub zero temperatures and as well as bright sunshine. Coming in a huge variety of colors and leaf textures, heucheras look great in almost any pot. When you decorate for fall, think about taking the decorations into winter.

 

Kale Kale Kale

Kale comes in so many colors and textures that you can create a container of just varieties of kale.

 

Many of our clients are inspired to decorate for fall after living with a beautiful landscape we designed and installed earlier in the year or even in years past.

 

At R. D. Tinsdale Landscaping we create landscapes to solve problems as well as look great and serve the family for years. This is the time of year to start thinking about what you’d like us to design for you! Call us at 317-636-9408.

 

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