Fall Container Garden Recipes

Just because the weather is cooling down doesn’t mean our gardens have to suffer. In fact, some of the most beautiful plant combinations are only possible in the spring and fall. Fall is a great time to freshen up your container gardens, and add a fresh burst of color to your outdoor space.

Local nurseries are getting in fresh batches of annuals like: flowering cabbage and kale, pansies, ornamental peppers, asters and mums; they will also be getting in new perennials that are looking great like; ornamental grasses, sedums, perennial herbs, coral bells, ajuga, and creeping jenny. These plants will come in beautiful cool colors and jewel tones that will make your containers pop, and give you fall color without much effort. There are so many options, that you could get overwhelmed at the store, so below are a few recipes to keep in mind when you start shopping.

For table toppers, try planting these combinations in small containers that will fit on top of your patio table, outdoor stairs, or other areas that could use a little punch of color:

Keep it cool, with these lavender and blue colored plants. This is a great color combination that will take you from summer to the cool months of fall without a hitch.

FROSTY FALL
-blue oat grass
-flowering cabbage or kale
-purple aster
-blue/lavender pansies

Brighten things up with these lime green and dark purple plants. This color combination looks good any season and will make any area pop!

THE LIME RICKEY
-hakone grass
-‘citronelle’ or other lime coral bells
-‘angelina’ sedum
-flowering cabbage
-black pansies

This combination of soft autumn colors will be an elegant addition to the bright oranges and reds the rest of the garden will be turning.

AUTUMN JOY
-‘autumn joy’ upright sedum
-‘key lime’ coral bells
-large flowering cabbage
-pansies

Nothing feels as much like fall as the bold oranges, maroons, reds and browns that the trees start turning this time of year. This combination of plants captures that feeling in a small patio sized pot. It also reminds us of harvest season, with the brightly colored ornamental pepper plants.

BOUNTIFUL BOWL
-bunny tail feather grass
-orange or red mum
-flowering kale
-ornamental pepper
-variety of sedums
-small dark leafed coral bells

These combinations of larger plants will make great patio planters, and can be the dramatic touch your entry way or back porch need this season. Try these combinations in larger planters where you need to make a statement.

Do you have a formal garden or entryway that needs some love? Try flanking your entrance with this combination for a more formal feeling container garden.

FABULOUS FALL FORMAL
-sprial topiary arborvitae
– ‘autumn joy’ sedum
-flowering kale and cabbage (for different textures)
-pansies (color of your choice)
-white variegated hakone grass
-ajouga

Do you have a shady spot in your yard, but you still want to fill it with color? Try this mix of plants. The annuals will die off in the harsh weather of winter, but the boxwood and grass will come back year after year.
-boxwood shrub

FALLING FOR FOLIAGE
-flowering cabbage
-purple aster
-hakone grass
-pansies
– ajuga