Fall Container Inspiration

It’s not just back to school season, there’s a chill in the air that is the unmistakable beginning of fall. While many of us lament the end of summer, the beginning of the fall season marks tons of great new opportunities for your garden. It’s not yet time to say goodbye to gorgeous growth, here’s how to make simply inspired fall creations to change up your landscape.

Fall Container Plants
Autumn presents some unique challenges that many of our summer stars aren’t ready to face. With cooler nights, less daylight, and generally harsher conditions, the elements of your fall containers should be adapted to thriving in fall conditions. 

Think of plants that excel in cooler temperatures that might not have been the focus of your heat-loving summer displays. Many blooms and plants are the idea choices for fall containers with their gorgeous colors that pop on an autumn landscape. Here are some of our favorites:

• Chrysanthemums “Mums” are a fall classic for a reason. The cooler temperatures of the late season brings out the most gorgeous blooms on these plants, making them a great choice as the center of attention in any container. With tons of different styles and variations to choose from, there’s something for any aesthetic and container, though we love the look of some warm-toned blooms to embrace the new season. 
• Flowering Kale are all about spectacular colors, not function or edibility. Another plant that embraces the cooler temperatures of the late summer/early autumn season, flowering kale will come into its own at this time of year. 
• Purple Fountain Grass is a cool choice for a pop of color that isn’t flowering. Hardy and tough, you might have included this grass in a summer planter but it doesn’t need to stop with just one season. We love the purple tones of this grass and the texture that it brings to fall containers, giving it a rustic edge that you can’t achieve with flowers alone. 
• Snapdragons shine in the cooler temperatures at the end of the season but are the perfect choice of bloom for gardeners that aren’t ready to say goodbye to the showy gorgeous colors of their summer gardens yet.
• Pansies are the ultimate relief for your summer garden transitioning into a fall look. While they might have been featured in your garden during the summer, cool conditions are where they start to shine. Trim back or take out the heat-loving annuals of your summer look and get ready to be dazzled by the bounty of blooms that your pansies give you to celebrate every last day of the season before the first frost.

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Fall Planter Ideas

Fall Window box Ideas: Create a fun and fall-themed window box by getting creative with your container. Take a hollow birch log for a rustic-looking container that is bursting with your favorite fall seasonal plants that is ready to perch on your window and cheer your view for the rest of the season. Simply hollow out a log, fill with soil, and plant! 

Focus on Fall Container Colors: The classic colors of fall are warm tones that range from yellow through red. While we love a hint of these in your fall containers, many of us get enough of these tones from our fabulous autumn foliage. Try including snippets of icy blue (try adding juniper for a unique color and texture) or purples (ranging from Violets to deep burgundy ‘mums) to add depth to your autumn display. 

Fall Containers Focus on Foliage: Autumn is all about the fabulous foliage, and there’s no reason to stop that celebration in your containers, too! Choose plants with interesting colors like Blackcurrant Euphorbia or Black Pearl Huechera for something bold that fits perfectly with your autumn aesthetic.

Fall Planter Pumpkin: Mix up your planter style to include something iconically fall-themed like a pumpkin. Hollow out one of these autumn gourds, but instead of carving a jack-o-lantern, fill it up with soil and some of your favorite cool-weather annuals. 

Autumn might mark the end of the summer and the start of classes for Iowa schools but there’s still so much in store for your garden and months of stylish looks before the end of the growing season. Choose one of our stylish tips to create a fall look that is unique and beautiful.