Looking for fall garden ideas? Wait until you see my must-have fall plants for flower beds and container gardens.
If you are looking for planting ideas that will bring the color through flowers and foliage, you came to the right place.
Cause I’m all about it!
Because fall garden plantings can be so much more than Chrysanthemums (mums) to spruce up the beds for autumn.
Don’t get me wrong, I love garden mums and tuck them around my home and garden, but there are so many other options that will add interest, color, and texture throughout the season.
Wait until you see what else you can plant for a gorgeous fall garden.
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What Should I Plant in My Garden in the Fall?
While garden mums are a go-to for many home decor enthusiasts and fellow gardeners, there are so many other great options to include that will bring an autumn color palette to your garden.
From annuals and perennials to vegetables, shrubs, and trees, what should you plant?
Fall Plant Ideas
Fall is a great time to plant your garden both for the season and for long-term color with blooms and foliage. It’s the perfect time to plant perennials, shrubs, and trees as they have more time to establish a good root system over the winter through the spring without having to endure a hot dry summer.
But it’s also a GREAT time to score some deals if you want to plant your garden for a long-term look.
Wait until roughly October to hit the nurseries, and you’ll see they will start reducing the cost of their stock to sell them off before winter.
So if you want to grow a garden in a particular area of your landscape? Do it in the fall and wait for those deals so it’s more budget-friendly.
Best Annuals for the Fall Garden
If you want to seasonally decorate your garden or outdoor living space with fall plants, there are some incredible annual options to grow that do well in both containers and the garden.
Next time you visit your local nursery or big box store, look for:
- Ornamental Grasses
- Ornamental Peppers
- Millet
- Ornamental Kale
- Ornamental Cabbage
- Pansies
- Celosia
- Strawflowers
- Snapdragons
- Zinnias
- Garden Mums (can be grown as an annual or perennial)
When the temps officially cool down for fall, I love to plant winter pansies in the garden. These pansies add fall color, will overwinter in some zones (like mine gardening zone 6a), and bounce back in spring.
So you can get two seasons out of them instead of one!
It’s a great way to save a few bucks because you won’t need to purchase them again in spring if you plan ahead now.
Pansies do not last through the dog days of summer so you’ll get more out of them by planting them in fall!
And if you want a pretty fall planter idea using some of these annuals, you’ve got to see my favorite container garden recipe for fall.
Best Perennials for the Fall Garden
While annuals provide seasonal color, I plant perennials as much as possible because they return yearly and add color without having to plant every year.
Perennials that I love to add in my garden for fall color include:
- Asters
- Ornamental Grass
- Japanese Anemones
- Sedums (I love Sedum Autumn Joy)
- Joe Pye Weed
- Heucheras
- Black-Eyed Susans
- Dahlias (they are a tender perennial in zone 6a)
Perennials are great to plant because they return year after year. And if you plan it well, you can have a succession of blooms through the entire growing season. Not sure whether to plant perennials or annuals? Read this post help you decide!
Sedum Autumn Joy
Hands down, my favorite fall-blooming perennial is Sedum Autumn Joy. While it is more of a fall plant, It is a four-season, low-maintenance plant that is super easy to propagate.
Sedum Autumn Joy adds greenery to the garden in spring, color, and texture with its chartreuse flower buds in summer, they produce an array of pink blooms throughout fall and the dried seed heads add winter interest.
Not to mention, I use the dried seed heads in floral arrangements and winter container plantings.
Want to increase your stock? Dig and divide these plants or take a cutting and plant it directly in the ground – it’s that easy to propagate! You can learn all about it in this video.
Late Flowering Trees and Shrubs With Fall Color
Since fall is a great time to plant, consider adding late-flowering trees and shrubs to add fall color without the extra work of planting annuals.
Shrubs and trees help anchor smaller plants in the garden and provide interest through the changing seasons. When I consider flowering trees and shrubs, I also look at what their foliage does in fall.
Some late-flowering trees and shrubs that I have and love are:
- Caryopteris
- Callicarpa
- Oak Leaf Hydrangea
- Hydrangea Paniculata
- Limelight Hydrangea
- Acer Palmatum
There are many others so do your research for what grows best in your climate.
When you shop around for shrubs and trees, look at the identification tag to see what kind of fall color it has, if any.
There are lots of beautiful shrubs and trees that flower in other seasons but look GORGEOUS in fall as the foliage changes and the leaves drop.
Take a look at shrubs like:
- spirea
- viburnum
- dogwood
- smoketree
Cool Season Vegetable Garden Ideas
If you love to grow your own food in your vegetable garden or potager garden, there are lots of cool-season varieties that do really well in the fall.
These vegetables are often frost-tolerant and can withstand cooler soil temperatures.
Examples of cool-season vegetables include:
- Leafy Greens: Lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, and Swiss chard are popular cool-season leafy greens.
- Cruciferous Vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kale fall into this category.
- Root Vegetables: Carrots, radishes, beets, turnips, and parsnips are cool-season root vegetables.
- Peas: Both shelling peas and snap peas are cool-season vegetables that thrive in cooler temperatures.
- Alliums: Onions, leeks, and garlic are considered cool-season vegetables.
More About Fall Garden Plantings
Do you love to plant a fall garden too? What do you love to grow? I would love to know more in the comments below.
Thank you for following along.
Happy planting – enjoy your day! xo
Fall Garden Flowers in the Well Garden Tour
Backyard Fall Garden Tour
I was given these Japanese Anemones from a local gardener two years ago.
I planted them immediately but they did not return at all last year.
Not even a leaf! This year, it grew these beautiful blooms!
It was such a nice surprise.
