From Homes and Gardens · · 1m 50s
Fall Porch Styling Ideas from Garden Designers
Garden designers share five ways to style fall porches with seasonal blooms and foliage.
In brief
Garden designers share five ways to style fall porches with seasonal blooms and foliage. Garden designers recommend using fewer containers, extending displays indoors, combining textures, focusing on foliage, and elevating mums for vibrant fall porch displays. Originally reported by Homes and Gardens.
Less is More
Garden designers recommend fewer, yet drama-filled, fall planters for a striking porch display.
“I am a huge fan of styling with containers and decor for fall porches, but less is more.”
Extend the Display Indoors
Use dahlia focal flowers with asters and nasturtiums to create cut-and-come-again fall arrangements.
“I would start with a dahlia in the center as the focal flower, and I'd look for a variety that is a prolific bloomer and does well in a container.”
Combine Textures
Add fresh-cut branches, ornamental cabbages, and heuchera for sensory-rich fall porch displays.
“As summer fades into fall, container plantings can begin to look overgrown and tired.”
Focus on Foliage
Heuchera 'Changeling', Hakonechloa 'Stripe It Rich', and Heucherella 'Sweet Tea' create vibrant fall foliage.
“All three of these perennials are excellent pot specimens. They perform quite well in most exposures.”
Elevate Your Mums
Use oversized planters and grouped mums with closed buds for longer blooming periods.
“Chrysanthemums are the quintessential fall plant. They come in a wide spectrum of colors, are everywhere, and inexpensive.”
Container Method
Use thriller, spiller, filler containers for focal points with celosia, rudbeckia, and pansies.
“Start by putting a thriller in the center, usually a celosia, rudbeckia, or grass.”
Focal Flowers
Choose dahlia varieties like 'Crème de Cassis' or 'Rhubarb & Custard' for vibrant fall displays.
“I would start with a dahlia in the center as the focal flower, and I'd look for a variety that is a prolific bloomer and does well in a container.”
Textural Elements
Incorporate Kimberly queen fern, cordyline, and ornamental cabbage for layered fall textures.
“When possible, keep one or two elements from your summer containers, such as Kimberly queen fern, cordyline, acorus, or asparagus fern.”
Foliage Varieties
Heuchera 'Changeling' provides caramel, ivory, and orangey hues for fall porch displays.
“Heuchera 'Changeling' is the star of the show and can be placed in front.”
Mum Care Tips
Use bottom watering and avoid direct sun to extend mum blooming periods.
“You should also use the bottom watering technique. This means placing them in their nursery pot in a pan or sink of water.”
Seasonal Blooms
Chrysanthemums bloom for days to weeks depending on watering, temperature, and sunlight.
“Mums have their moment and it often isn't very long. Depending on a few variables such as watering, temperature, and amount of sunlight, you will enjoy them anywhere from days to weeks.”
Cut-and-Come-Again
Nasturtiums and asters provide cut-and-come-again foliage for indoor arrangements.
“It's also a cut-and-come-again flower, so you can snip both the flowers and foliage for arrangements and it will continue producing.”
Fall Decor
Add dried lotus pods and natural materials like terracotta for a cohesive fall porch look.
“I like to also add a fall touch of dried decor like lotus pods.”
Planting Techniques
Angle filler plants at 45 degrees for visibility from multiple directions.
“Don't forget to angle these filler plants outward at approximately 45 degrees so their colors and textures are visible from multiple directions.”
What Happens Next
Create a vibrant fall porch display with seasonal blooms and foliage that impresses visitors.
“It's the perfect time to create a dazzling seasonal display that impresses passers-by and visitors alike.”
The takeaway
Garden designers recommend using fewer containers, extending displays indoors, combining textures, focusing on foliage, and elevating mums for vibrant fall porch displays.
