How To Build Stunning Fall Container Gardens
Container gardens are a great way to add seasonal interest to your home, whether you put them in your entryway, on the back patio, or as a centerpiece on the kitchen table! With the official start of fall right around the corner (Sept. 22 to be precise), we wanted to share some colorful, texture-rich ideas that you can use as fall container gardens. In this post, we’ll discuss the 3 essential elements every container garden needs, and then we’ll take a look at some specific plants you can use to make your fall arrangements spectacular!
Fall Container Gardens Essentials
Browsing the plant selection at your local nursery or hardware store is sure to provide tons of inspiration, but that can also get pretty overwhelming if you (like us) end up loving all the plants. For a really impactful visual display, try to focus on combining a variety of colors and textures. In general, a good rule to follow is to incorporate these three container garden essentials:
- Thrillers. The perfect thrillers are plants that offer height and contrast. Some of our favorite plants to use as thrillers include evergreens, ornamental grasses, or tall varieties of coleus.
- Fillers. Adding fillers will take your container garden from sparse to voluminous! Plant them around the perimeter of your thrillers to provide contrasting height and texture.
- Spillers. Add spillers around the edges of your container. Plants like ivy, vinca, or any groundcover sedum will fill in nicely and cascade over the edges of your container.
Now that we’ve covered the essential components of fall container gardens, let’s look at a variety of plants you can use to create your own wonderful arrangements. Keep in mind that you don’t have to use only annuals for your display. You can use a combination of ornamental grasses, small shrubs, perennials, groundcover, and different sized pumpkins or gourds to create that picture-perfect fall display.
Great Plants for Adding Texture to Fall Container Gardens
Using a variety of textures brings additional contrast and visual interest to container gardens. Use a combination of small-leaved and big-leaved plants to get an appealing visual display. Evergreens, such as Dwarf Alberta Spruce or Arborvitae, also give great height and texture, especially going into the winter months. Purple fountain ornamental grasses have a wonderful fountain-like form that offers great height, texture, color, and even sound!
Another wonderful way to incorporate texture is to look beyond plants and start adding decorative items such as little pumpkins, bumpy gourds, or your other small pieces of seasonal decor. These adornments can make annual arrangements feel all the more festive. Have fun with it, this is your creation!
Great Plants for Adding Color to Fall Container Gardens
The fall season here in the Midwest is notable for its magnificent display of natural color, and your fall container gardens should follow suit. Consider the color schemes that best fit with your style. Do you prefer contrasting color compositions? Look for plants that boast colors like yellow, green, and purple. Prefer something a bit more traditional? Look for plants with autumnal colors like orange, yellow, and brown.
Tried and true, Chrysanthemums bring an abundance of color to any arrangement. This plant has a bounty of vibrant flowers, including red, orange, yellow, pink, purple, and white. They’re great to use just by themselves, or you can place them in a pumpkin to create a fun “mumkin!”
Ornamental kale, lettuce, and cabbage are all wonderful additions that bring cool tone colors to your arrangements. Use these in conjunction with other plants such as pansies, marigolds, and groundcover sedum to get a striking visual display for your front entryway or back patio.
We’d Love To See Your Creations
We are firm believers in the power of outdoor imagination, and we would love to see what you come up with! Share images of your fall container gardens with us on Instagram using #outdoorimagination. We can’t wait to see them!
