Tips on Transitioning Container Gardens to Fall

When September arrives, we’re ready for a change of mood in the garden! In some places, fall is in the air and cooler weather has arrived! In other places, summer temperatures are still hanging around! But, whether the weather is cooling down or still in the 90s, now is the perfect time to refresh summer flower pots and transition container gardens to fall!

Do your summer flower pots and container gardens start looking bedraggled and ready for a change by the end of summer? Mine sure do. Using the same summer container gardens, flower pots, and planters that you already have, and reviving and refreshing them for Fall, is a great way to save time and money. When you’re finished you will have a fall container garden to add some fall decorative touches to your outdoor space! Here are tips and steps for transitioning container gardens to fall.

First off, a little disclaimer. Here at Gingham Gardens, we’re just normal folks that love to garden and like to beautify our little corner of the world! The planters in this post aren’t fancy by any stretch of the imagination. But no matter your taste, the basic principles of transitioning your summer flower containers to fall are the same. Read on and I think you will agree this is simple enough for even non-gardeners to accomplish.

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Fall Flowers that Work Well in Containers:

• Chyrsanthemums (a/k/a mums)
• Asters
• Ornamental Peppers
• Pansies
• Black-eyed Susans (a/k/a Rudbeckia)
• Celosia
• Dianthus
• Viola
• Marigolds in warm tones like gold or orange

Bold foliage plants for Autumn Containers :

• Coleus
• Swiss Chard
• Ornamental Cabbage
• Ornamental Kale
• Croton

Most of these fall plants and flowers will survive a light first frost and are perfect for fall planting.

There are likely lots of container plants from your summer planters that will still look great in your fall containers too! They include purple fountain grass, ornamental grasses, spikes, creeping jenny, ivy, coleus, vinca vine, sweet potato vine and more. Herbs are also a fun choice! If any of these plants are looking overgrown, you can simply trim them.

Both annual and perennial plants can be used in fall container gardens. Keep in mind that In colder climates, the annuals will eventually freeze, and the perennials might need to be put in the ground before late fall. An example of a hardy perennial that looks great in fall pots is coral bells. If you choose a variety that is suitable for your climate, it may withstand winter in a pot but with some extra protection from the cold. Otherwise, it will do better in the ground.

Steps for Transitioning Container Gardens to Fall:

• First, pull out the tired-looking summer annuals and leave the tall grasses or spikes. If they are in good shape, also leave the spillers like vinca vine, ivy or creeping jenny. It’s easiest to pull the annuals out when the soil is dry. ( I imagine you’ve heard this design principal for pots: thrillers, spillers and fillers!)
• Next, loosen up the compacted soil. I use my trusty CobraHead. (Yet, another way to use the best garden tool ever.) A sharp hand shovel or a gardening knife will also work.
• Then, plop in a mum or another favorite fall flower from the list above. Small potted mums are always a great choice for replacing annuals in a smaller container. They are synonymous with fall and come in both annual and perennial varieties. When you are purchasing your mums, choose those that are showing only a little color to be sure of your color choice, but that won’t bloom out and leave your design lacking!

When you finish up here, pop over and check out the article on How to Buy and Care for Mums to Get the Biggest Bang for Your Buck. You’ll be glad you did!

• Fill in around your new plants with some fresh potting soil and then give the entire planter, a good, slow watering. .
• To add some character, you might add some miniature pumpkins and gourds. If you have nuisance squirrels in your yard, you might want to consider using artificial pumpkins and gourds. And since we often associate scarecrows with fall, you might try working one into your design!

Refreshed Summer Flower Pots for Fall

If your front porch is tiny and there isn’t much room to decorate, it’s still fun to have a little something just to make things feel homey and welcoming! Consider the charming vignette below!

A short stepladder anchors this little vignette. It’s a great piece and so very versatile! Interesting pieces such as this, let you go up with your design: shelves allow you to layer your plants and decorative materials and take up less room! The galvanized planter brings a ton of character to the tiny space. The spring design features pansies and violas.

Although not pictured here, the pansies and violas were replaced with carnations and marigolds in the summer. When the summer flowers started looking tired, they were pulled out of the galvanized flower pot. As seen below.

In the next picture, the addition of a chrysanthemum took the design into fall. The vinca vine got a much-needed haircut and the spike was trimmed. Fun fall accents of a scarecrow and pumpkins were added to update the seasonal look! Are there accents that say fall to you? Acorns and crows, or a miniature hay bale might tickle your fancy! Very simple yet adorable and festive!

Next, we have another fun planting that starts the seasonal parade in these deck rail planters! Marigolds, verbenas and zinnias lend their charm here in the summer. The bright color palette is really eye catching!

When the planter needed refreshing, the past their prime summer annuals were removed. The vinca vine was left in the planter, and mums, pumpkins and more adorable scarecrows were added!

Need a reminder of this post for later? Here’s a Pin you can add to one of your Gardening or Fall boards on Pinterest. Or, you can pin any of the pictures in this post by hovering in the upper left-hand corner. There are more Pin collages at the bottom of the post.

Here’s a fabulous container garden: it’s in old whiskey barrel. It permanently resides on a tree stump in the middle of a flower bed!

Whiskey barrels make great flower pots and they make striking additions to outdoor spaces! An added bonus: they last for years!

Here is the whiskey barrel made over for Fall. As you can see, the snapdragons and the creeping jenny were left and a Mum, pumpkin and a cute harvest sign were added. Nothing fancy, but still a beautiful container garden that welcomes passersby.

If you’re handy, or know someone who is, you can add tones of character to your home with DIY projects like shutters or even old shutters or doors purchased at flea markets. They make great backdrops for plantings and decorations. You can have fun rearranging plants and your found treasures every season!

You can see the winter version here.

And, the new Fall look for the Window Box.

More fall displays with scarecrows!

Can you see yourself creating beautiful fall planters simply by refreshing summer containers? Hope this article got your creative juices flowing and you’re ready to revamp your flower planters for Fall. By just making these few changes, our container gardens and planters have been revived and look much tidier! And don’t you love all the whimsical fall touches? I’m curious, do you like to decorate your outdoor spaces for the fall season?

You can find more of my delightful fall planter ideas in this post. And, here are some more popular fall posts you’ll enjoy:

Tips for Keeping Mums Looking Great
Fall Flower Garden Inspiration (Plus MORE Decor Ideas)
Fall Porch Decor and Outdoor Decorating Ideas
The Best Fall Perennial Flowers

Thanks so much for stopping by Gingham Gardens. I hope you have some new ideas and tips for Transitioning your Container Gardens to Fall. If you’d like some more upscale design ideas, rather than my simple ones, check out this article on Houzz for Refreshing Your Summer Container Gardens for Fall.

Happy Fall Gardening, 

Julie

p.s. Please help me out by pinning these pictures. Simply hover in the upper left-hand corner and click the “pin” icon. There are more pins at the bottom of the page. Thanks… a bunch!!!!

p.p.s. Follow Gingham Gardens on Pinterest for lots of great gardening ideas and tons of gardener’s eye candy.

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