Summer to Fall Transition in the Garden

Looking for summer to fall transition planting ideas in the garden? Wait until you see what to plant to carry the color through.

As much as I love spring when all is anew, there is nothing quite like the change in season from summer to fall in the garden.

The leaves begin to turn and the foliage becomes more vibrant. It is so beautiful!

When designing my gardens, I not only considered flower bloom time, but also foliage color and how it would change in fall.

It is amazing how that change in foliage adds another layer to the fall garden.

In addition to fall annuals, the best way to add fall foliage color is through perennials and flowering shrubs.

As we move through fall, I’ll talk more about how I use them to get more foliage color as the season changes.

Wait until you see how pretty the gardens look too!

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Fall is Arriving in the Garden

The beautiful bold, pink hues of Echinacea and Bee Balm are dimming and, after a few recent storms, the blooms are starting to topple over.

While these pinks fade, my Tall Phlox is starting to fully bloom and looks great!

The vibrant variety of Phlox pinks are pairing nicely with the deep yellow hue of Black Eyed Susans.

Meanwhile, Sedum Autumn Joy’s chartreuse buds are becoming more prominent in the borders.

These flower heads are preparing to bloom and add autumnal color to the yard.

Because it is low maintenance and propagates easily, I have this plant in every garden!

It is so amazing to see the pollinators still loving the gardens and how their floral preferences have changed through the summer.

This week, they are enthralled with Joe Pye Weed – which is doing quite well in the backyard gardens.

I even saw six butterflies on one plant just the other day!

With that, let’s take a walk around the property and see how the borders are making the summer to fall transition.

Front Cottage Garden

The front gardens are doing so well right now!

Pink is the dominant border color but some fresh Black Eyed Susan blooms are spicing it back up.

Catmint is almost done flowering and I am going to cut it back halfway to try and get another set of blooms.

Bee Balm is almost completely done flowering and is starting to develop a powdery mildew.

I will likely cut these back soon to tidy up the border.

My Echinacea is still blooming but is fading and toppling over.

I could leave them until they are completely done but am trying to motivate myself to get out there and stake them. #reallife

The annuals are starting to bounce back now that the summer temps are cooling down.

And my Dahlias in particular are looking spectacular!

Note to self: remember to pull these out before first frost and store them in the basement – they are tender here and will not survive the winter.

Midsummer Flowers in the Perennial Garden — The walkway to my front door is stunning right now!

Midsummer Flowers — Love this color Phlox. It is one of the few that I kept in the garden after most suffered from powdery mildew.

Summer to Fall Transition Flowers — Sedum, Black Eyed Susans, Euphorbia, Knock-Out Roses, Dahlias, Echinacea and Russian Sage

Sedum Autumn Joy in the Perennial Garden — Look at how beautiful those Sedum Autumn Joy flower heads pair with Echinacea. Love that combo!

Mailbox Garden

Mailbox Flower Garden — The red Daylillies are pretty much done. Jackmanii Clematis is still blooming and looks great paired with the emerging Sedum flowers.

Petunias, Marigolds and Euphorbia Flowers — The Petunias, Marigolds and Euphorbia are still doing well in this tiny garden. These annuals are going to look great as part of the fall border.

Sedum Autumn Joy — I love the combination of the Petunias and Sedum. Jackmanii Clematis is starting to wrap around the front of the mailbox garden.

Well Garden

summer to fall garden transition — The orange hues in this border are done for now. Tall Phlox is blooming and pairs well with Smoketree’s foliage. I am kind of surprised Moonbeam Coreopsis is still blooming here – it’s done in the most of the other beds.

summer to fall transition in the garden — I love the arch and grace of Callicarpa (Beautyberry) in this border.

Tricycle in the Garden — Zebra Grass is almost fully grown and practically covering the tricycle in the garden. I love it paired with the yellowish-peachy color of the Petunias.

Backyard Gardens

The Backyard Gardens are doing so well this year.

They look great and I’m so happy with the result. I’ve seen a lot of butterflies hanging out here this week.

The have been enjoying all the Joe Pye Weed in the back borders.

Backyard Border

To see a video tour of this garden, click here.

Summer Perennials and Flowering Shrubs — This used to be one of the last borders I would weed. I’m so glad I had help cleaning this bed up this year.

Leucothoe is a great low growing evergreen shrub for shade.

As much as I love Plume Poppy in the spring, it is adding a fall presence to the border. Some of the stalks are falling over but look at how those plumes have changed color.

Berry Garden

While the Blackberries are ripening, I’m noticing some leaf curl on the foliage. I need to research what’s going on and how to fix it for next year.

Deck Garden

The deck gardens are my FAVORITE place to be right now!

The containers look so lush, my houseplants are loving their summer vacation and I just love to be out here!

Learn more tips on houseplant care and how to summer them outdoors.

To take a deck and container garden video tour, click here.

Shade Container Garden — For this shade container recipe, click here.

Love this Double Flowering Impatiens. Perfect flower to brighten up shady areas.

Summering Houseplants — Christmas Cactus, Dumb Cane and Spider Plant reside in this corner of my deck.

This Philodendron LOVES to summer outdoors! So much so it needs to be repotted. Check out those roots growing outside the container!

Outdoor Dining Room on the Deck — For source information, click here.

Garden Shed and Fire Pit Border

What Do You Think?

Have you noticed the summer to fall transition in your garden?

Let me know in the comments here.

I would love to hear about it. Your comments mean so much to me and make my day!

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, you can see them here:

Thank you for following along. Happy planting – enjoy your day! xo

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