Fall Garden Tip that Will Save You Money

As the growing season winds down, I’m looking for garden inspiration to tweak some of the borders for next year. In my opinion, fall is THE best time to purchase and plant.

While it is true you can plant anytime the ground is not frozen, the best times are generally in spring and fall. However, I prefer to purchase and plant in fall because the plants establish a little easier and you can pick them up at a discount.

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The Budget Gardener

As the growing season comes to a close, nurseries start selling their stock off at a discount before winter. You can save a lot of money purchasing plants if you do this in fall.

If you wait long enough, you can get significant discounts at the register because the discounts increase from late September-ish through October. I love to purchase new plants in mid-late October because that’s when I find the best deals where I live and there’s still a decent amount of stock to choose from.

Why Plants Establish Easier When Planted in Fall

When planted in fall, perennials, shrubs and trees have a better shot at acclimating to their new homes. Why? Because their roots have a chance to develop in winter.

While spring is also a good time to plant, it really takes a good year for plants, shrubs and trees to acclimate and establish. When we plant in spring, the summer heat can be brutal, especially for shrubs and trees. If you aren’t diligent at keeping them hydrated, they may suffer after planting. In my experience, I’ve found greater success growing and establishing when I plant in fall.

Now let’s tour my garden and see what’s blooming and looks good right now so you get some ideas of what to plant for next year’s fall garden.

Front Entry Garden

The front entry garden is probably my favorite garden right now. I love all the fall colors! It has also been a haven for bees and butterflies. I even saw a few monarchs zipping around from Sedum to Sedum.

This week, I am loving the Hydrangea Paniculata! The long, graceful branches with big beautiful blooms make such a statement in the fall border! I am also loving Sedum Autumn Joy, Asters and the Ornamental Grasses.

As we move around the border, check out how much my Sedum has deepened in color since last week! I’m telling you…this is one of my favorite plants and a garden must-have!

Fall Garden Tip that Will Save Money — Love love love these gorgeous purple Asters!

Dahlias — I’m new to the Dahlia scene because they are tender here and I did not want to dig them out every fall while we were running from activity to activity with the kids. But now that I have a little more time, I am planning to add more dahlias next year! I LOVE them!!!

Mailbox Garden

As I walk around the mailbox border, I am really happy that we changed out the mailbox and painted the front door. What a difference those two small changes made!

I love the mix of Sedum and Asters combined with my Clematis and spring annuals. I’m hoping the nursery acquires Pansies soon – I am ready to tuck a few in this border with a few small pumpkins.

If you look back through prior tours, you can really see how much color and texture Sedum Autumn Joy adds to the borders.

Well Garden

The well garden may be winding down, but there’s lots of plants still strutting their fall stuff! The Zebra Grass is so big it’s starting to fall over after the last rain we had. I may need to stake it up if I want to neaten up the border. ?

Smoketree still adds that reddish-deep purple hue to the garden. Its leaves are just starting to turn. There is nothing quite like Smoketree’s Fall color. It is stunning!

Caryopteris and the bright purple berries of Callicarpa add additional color and texture to this bed. I cut back the Butterfly Weed to neaten up the garden a bit. I’m considering tucking a mum or two in here, but I’m not sure yet.

Notice the powdery mildew on my Peonies. They are done and ready to be cut back. But because I like the garden to look full, I’ll keep them up another week or so. I don’t mind the silvery look of the foliage right now.

Callicarpa is one of my favorite small shrubs. I love how the foliage is getting lighter as the temps cool down, The vibrant foliage helps the bright purple berries stand out more.

Callicarpa — Look at these gorgeous berries!!!❤️

I love the plumes and texture of Zebra Grass. So gorgeous in the fall garden!

Backyard Gardens

The backyard borders are starting to wind down. The backyard border has really muted in tone and some of the Hostas are showing signs they are dying back. While it still looks really pretty, it does not look as vibrant as it did last week. This will change soon as the foliage starts to turn because some of the shrubs planted have brilliant fall color. So as much as this garden is winding down, the fall foliage will kick it back up again.

Leucothoe is a great small, low growing shrub for shade to part-shade.

My Endless Hydrangea has a number of blooms on it now! Yay!

What Do You Think?

Do you have any budget gardening tips to share? I am so excited to visit the nurseries again to see what new plants they have out. It is so fun to try ones that I’ve not grown before. After all, that’s what keeps the borders interesting!

What was your favorite garden this week? I would love to know – let me know what you think in the comments here. And be sure to follow me @bricksnblooms on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram where I share lots of the behind-the-scenes of my home, garden and personal life.

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Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed this week’s garden tour and appreciate you joining me! If you missed a few tours or want to see how the garden has progressed during the growing season, you can see them here: