Create a stunning fall container garden with this easy recipe. Get tips on plant selection and design for colorful autumn blooms.
Fall container gardening is a fantastic way to extend the gardening season and add a burst of color to your outdoor spaces.
In this post, I’m sharing a simple recipe for a vibrant fall container garden that will make your porch or patio the envy of the neighborhood. We’ll also explore other creative ways to use containers in the fall, ensuring your garden stays beautiful through the changing seasons.
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Designing Your Fall Container Garden
The key to a successful fall container garden is choosing the right plants and arranging them in a visually appealing way. A popular technique is the “thriller, filler, spiller” method, which creates a dynamic display with varying heights and textures.
- Thrillers: These are the tall, attention-grabbing plants that form the centerpiece of your container. Think ornamental grasses or millet for height and visual interest.
- Fillers: These plants fill in the middle space, adding color and texture. Celosia, salvia, and pansies are excellent choices for their vibrant hues.
- Spillers: These trailing plants cascade over the edges of the container, softening its lines and adding a touch of whimsy. Ornamental kale and cabbage, along with creeping jenny, are perfect for this role.
When choosing your container, consider the size and style that best suits your space. Make sure it has drainage holes to prevent root rot.
To learn more about how to use the thriller, filler, spiller method of design, read this post.
The Fall Container Garden Recipe
Ready to create your masterpiece? Here’s my recipe for a vibrant fall container garden. It’s my favorite one to this day!
Ingredients
- Thrillers: Millet, ornamental grasses
- Fillers: Celosia, calamint, pansies
- Spillers: Ornamental kale and cabbage, creeping jenny
- Potting soil
- Slow-release fertilizer
Instructions
- Choose your container: Select a container that suits your space and style. Ensure it has drainage holes to prevent waterlogging.
- Fill with soil: Fill the container with fresh potting soil, leaving some space at the top for the plants.
- Plant the thriller: In this recipe, millet is our thriller. Center it towards the back if your container will be against a wall, or in the middle for a 360° view. Tip: If the root ball is larger than expected, don’t worry! Just adjust the placement of other plants as needed.
- Add the spiller: Tuck creeping jenny in front of the millet, allowing it to cascade over the edges. Tip: Keep an eye on creeping jenny as it can be invasive. Planting it in a container helps to control its spread.
- Fill in with fillers: Place the ornamental kale and cabbage around the base of the millet and creeping jenny. These low-growing plants add vibrant colors and leafy textures.
- Tuck in remaining plants: Add the salvia and celosia on one side, balancing them with the billowy calamint and more celosia on the other. This creates a visually appealing and balanced arrangement.
- Fertilize and water: Sprinkle slow-release fertilizer over the soil and water thoroughly. This will provide your plants with the nutrients they need to thrive.
Caring for Your Fall Container Garden
Even as temperatures cool, your fall container garden thrives with consistent care:
- Watering: Check the soil moisture regularly. Water when the top inch feels dry to the touch, or use a moisture meter for more accuracy.
- Fertilizing: Continue using the slow-release fertilizer from planting, supplementing with liquid fertilizer every few weeks to maintain vibrant blooms.
- Deadheading and Pruning: Regularly remove spent blooms and any browned or yellowing leaves to encourage new growth and maintain a tidy appearance.
- Frost Protection: Monitor frost warnings and protect your container garden when temperatures drop below freezing. Move containers to a sheltered spot or cover them with a frost blanket or old blanket overnight.
A Note on Fall Mums
While tempting to buy early, resist purchasing mums when the weather is still hot. They’re not bred to withstand high temperatures and won’t last long. Instead, wait until cooler weather arrives to enjoy their full beauty.
By following these simple care tips, and being mindful of frost and early mum purchases, your fall container garden will flourish throughout the season. Remember, even the hardiest plants appreciate some extra attention as the weather changes!
Expanding Your Fall Container Palette
While the recipe above offers a beautiful starting point, the possibilities for fall container gardens are endless! Here are some additional plants to consider, categorized for easy selection:
Fall Flowers
- Garden Mums: These classic fall flowers offer a burst of color in shades of yellow, orange, red, and purple. Choose compact varieties for containers.
- Celosia: With its feathery plumes or crested cockscomb blooms in vibrant colors, celosia adds a unique and whimsical touch to fall containers.
- Pansies: These cheerful flowers are cold-hardy and come in a wide array of colors and patterns, adding a burst of sunshine to autumn days.
- Marigolds: Known for their golden hues, marigolds are a symbol of autumn. They also attract beneficial insects to your garden.
- Snapdragons: These charming flowers resemble tiny dragon faces and come in various colors. They’re perfect for adding vertical interest to your containers.
- Strawflowers: These papery blooms offer a unique texture and come in a range of colors, including pink, red, yellow, and white. They also dry well for everlasting arrangements.
- Calamint: With its aromatic foliage and delicate flowers, calamint is a lovely filler plant that attracts pollinators.
Fall Garden Tip: if you buy and plant pansies now, they will bounce back in spring when the daffodils start to bloom.
Colorful Foliage
- Kale & Cabbage: These cool-season edibles double as ornamental showstoppers. Their ruffled leaves come in a variety of colors, from deep purple to creamy white.
Textural Grasses
- Millet: This tall, graceful grass adds height and drama to any arrangement. Its feathery plumes sway in the autumn breeze, creating a sense of movement.
- Fountain Grass: This ornamental grass features graceful arching foliage and fluffy plumes, adding movement and texture to your fall containers.
Trailing Accents
- Creeping Jenny: This low-growing groundcover adds a bright pop of chartreuse to the edges of your containers, cascading over the sides.
- Sweet Potato Vine: This vigorous vine offers colorful foliage in shades of green, purple, or bronze, adding a lush, cascading element to your containers.
Feel free to mix and match these plants to create your own unique fall container garden. Consider the colors, textures, and heights of different plants to create a visually balanced and stunning display. With so many options to choose from, you’re sure to find the perfect combination to brighten your autumn landscape.
Beyond the Recipe: Creative Fall Container Ideas
This recipe is just a starting point! There are countless ways to use containers to add fall flair to your garden. Here are a few ideas:
- Swap Summer for Fall: Replace spent summer annuals with cool-season favorites like pansies, ornamental kale, mums, and decorative cabbage. These thrive in cooler temperatures and add a burst of color to your containers.
- Add Pumpkins: If summer flowers still have some life, top them off with oversized pumpkins for a simple autumn aesthetic.
- Fall Blooms: Incorporate fall-blooming flowers such as asters, chrysanthemums, sedum, and zinnias for a vibrant display that lasts through the season.
- Ornamental Grasses: These add texture and movement to your arrangements, with their feathery plumes and changing foliage colors.
- Fall Foliage: Embrace the beauty of autumn leaves! Coral bells (Heucheras), Japanese maples, and ornamental peppers offer stunning foliage in rich hues. Tip: Heucheras are a great alternative to mums, as they last longer and are easier to overwinter.
- Plant Spring Bulbs: Get a head start on next spring by planting bulbs like tulips, daffodils, and crocuses in containers this fall. Store them in a cool, protected area until spring.
- Festive Touches: Incorporate pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks, or other fall elements for a seasonal display.
- Bring Plants Indoors: Save tender perennials like dahlias, caladiums, and colocasia, as well as annuals like geraniums and coleus, by bringing them indoors for the winter.
Don’t be afraid to experiment and have fun with your fall container gardens. With a little creativity, you can create stunning displays that will brighten your autumn days!
Final Thoughts About Fall Container Gardening
I’m smitten with this fall container garden recipe! The combination of millet’s graceful purple plumes, the vibrant fuschia of the celosia, and the subtle fragrance of calamint creates a truly captivating display. It’s a feast for the eyes and the nose, reminding me of the simple joys of gardening.
Remember, this recipe is just a starting point. Feel free to experiment with different plant combinations, colors, and textures to create your own unique fall masterpiece. The most important ingredient is your creativity and love for gardening!
Now that your container garden is planted, don’t forget to follow the care tips outlined above to ensure it thrives throughout the fall season. With a little attention, your vibrant container garden will be a source of beauty and joy for weeks to come. Happy gardening!
Do you love to plant fall containers too? What plants do you like to design them with? Do you have any tips you’d like to share? I would love to know more in the comments below.
For more fall container garden tips, read this article from the Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
To drill down on more beginner gardening techniques and tips, please read these posts:
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear! And feel free to share this post with anyone you think would find it helpful too.
Thank you so much for following along.
Enjoy a beautiful day! xo
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