When the cooler weather and shorter days of early fall arrive, summer planters may look a bit bedraggled. Sometimes I keep them going until the tender plants succumb to the cold, but often I simply replace the summer display with fall flowers. I love the flowers of autumn and delight in the deeper, richer colors that the cool weather brings out. Fall planters filled with eye-popping blooms, grasses, and even succulents celebrate the season in a quietly jubilant fashion.
Of course, the queen of fall flowers for planters are chrysanthemums. They are unquestionably one of our most popular flowers, and few plants can rival their beautiful colors and durability. They bloom for a long period, make excellent cut flowers, and are easy to grow in containers. Plant them singly in a planter or mix them with other plants—it is your choice. I personally like fall mums filling a planter by themselves. I particularly like white ones because they glow brightly in the darkness of a fall evening. They seem to light up under a full moon.
Another popular flower for fall planters are pansies. Long associated with spring, the cold-tolerant hybrids of this happy-faced perennial bloom in fall and can even overwinter in USDA hardiness zones 6 and 7. So, along with mums, add pansies in fall containers. And don’t forget asters, sedums, and goldenrod. Goldenrod (Solidago) is a perennial that blooms in late summer to fall. It can be grown easily in containers and mixes well with ornamental grasses and decorative cabbage and kale. And why not pop in a few ornamental peppers with their colorful fruits and foliage? All these together make a notable fall planter display.
Yellow pansies share the stage with the red fruits and dark green leaves of wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens). Place a few unique winged gourds within the planter for a festive fall look. The dark green boxwood makes a good backdrop.