If there were a nationwide contest for fall holiday decor, New England would be the outright-no-questions-asked winner. This corner of the world goes Halloween decor crazy (your biggest, brightest holiday light display has nothing on our two-story skeletons, pumpkin towers, and a legit collection of haunted houses, creepy old graveyards, and battlefields. You can have lunch in Salem and dinner near the Lizzie Borden house. We also go a little mum-crazy right about now. And while I like a good chrysanthemum, and they can create a lovely display of colors that goes rather nicely with all our vibrant trees…I often find myself trying to re-invent the fall flowers tradition a bit.
How to reinvent your fall flower display and Autumn front porch garden
If you are like me and feel compelled to make your autumn garden decor a little more original — here are a few of ideas for changing it up a bit.
I’m focussing on planting as decor – specifically, fall flowers to plant in pots or the ground – and I’m partial to perennials (because I can get kinda cheap and lazy about annuals).
Step 1 – Snap Out of the Mum Obsession
Look for fall color in other plants – that aren’t the standard chrysanthemums.
I’m absolutely adoring the raspberry red berries of Maianthemum racemosum (False Solomons Seal) in my garden. False Solomons seal is native to Massachusetts and I’ve always had them here – growing wild. I have them planted near my Autumn Joy sedum (which is a perennial favorite) and some pomegranate punch calibrachoa. I think deep pink is the new black (err orange).
Guara is another fall favorite that would bring some lovely shades of pink to this collection. And don’t forget that there is a wide selection of native asters – making it easy to find one that is appropriate to your neck of the woods.
Read: Planting Aster ericoides for a fall snow flurry of flowers
Step 2 – Play with perennials – find new fall-blooming flower combinations
When did I plant those lavender fall flowers? I had almost forgotten the asters I installed last year until they burst out in a purple profusion. Much to my delight and surprise, they are brilliant companions to the remaining yellow flowers and inky black seedheads of the adjacent St Johns Wort.
Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’ is also a lovely part of the mix — proving that shades of purple and blue are very fall fab.
Step 3 – Pay Attention to Color and Try a monochrome palette
It is arguable that all the fall-blooming flower colors will look good together. My mom used to tell me that if it looked good in nature, it would look good in fashion (and she is right), but nonetheless, I can find fall to be overwhelmingly colorful with intense, fiery, hot shades.
But what if you want something a little more distinctive? In that case, try limiting the color palette. Look for combinations that really play well together because they are the same but with different textures or flower sizes. Is it me, or do the tones of this funky squash come to life when we put an orange mum nearby?
Single-hued displays – or schemes that celebrate a tight selection of closely related colors can be tres chic.
Here in California fall color is a challenge, because of the long growing season. One of my best is Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’. Mums and helenium need frequent cutting back to make it to fall before blooming. I think I need to try St. John’s Wort. And I just can’t seem to grow calibrachoa. Thanks for a look at what other’s are doing to keep the season going.
Thanks Rochelle! I never “do” mums, I like to plant perennials which add color to the late Fall garden : asters & anemones are great for fall color and those are just perennials, not to mention shrubs.