Simple Fall Landscaping Ideas

While fall may be a time when much of your yard and landscaping turn brown and dormant, we also know that fall is a time that brings out brilliant colors. Let’s discuss some ways to utilize these beautiful fall plants in a landscape design tailored for the autumn season.

The Best Fall Plants

Mums The Word

You can’t go to a pumpkin patch or farmer’s market in the fall without tripping over a planter of mums. While they are a beautiful and classic flower that comes in a wide range of colors, there are plenty of other fall plants to choose from that can help add color and beauty to your yard in the fall!

Sumac: While you obviously want to stay away from poison sumac, there are a number of other perfectly safe varieties that can offer brilliant colors in the fall that last into the winter.
Oak Leaf Hydrangea: This plant grows to shrub/small tree size and in the fall it’s leaves offer change to a fiery hue. If you are looking for front yard landscaping ideas, be sure to add this plant to your list!
Pansies: These landscaping plants are very versatile and work well in a garden, container, or planting beds. Because they can withstand a light frost they work great to add color into a fall landscape.
‘Morning Light’ Miscanthus : Grasses are often one of the most overlooked landscaping ideas; they can help add movement or motion to your fall garden. This miscanthus variety takes on a reddish color as cooler weather and autumn arrives.

Fall Flowers to Plant

Do Some Planting

Many people aren’t thinking of long term landscaping ideas because of the cold weather that’s just around the corner. Early fall, before the ground freezes, is an excellent time to plant new trees and shrubs. Cooler weather and the rain that often comes during this time of year means these young plants undergo less stress than the hot and dry weather of summer. Plus, many nurseries are actively trying to empty their shelves, so you may be able to find great plants at a dramatic discount.

Bring Out The Decoration

Fall is the beginning of the seasons when many people add decorations to their front steps or door. Pumpkins and mums are a traditional fall decorating trend that can take you through Halloween all the way to Thanksgiving, eliminating the need to swap out your decorations after just a few weeks. To put a modern, and somewhat glamorous, take on it you can go with a more monochromatic look with white and gold decorations instead of the typical fall colors. Gourds of varying sizes and colors or a basket of apples are more along the lines of the traditional decorations, but provide a way to step outside of the expected fall decorations.

Adorn Your Flower Beds

If you have flower beds that have flowers that are no longer blooming you can add pumpkins or gourds to the flower beds to add color without having to go to the trouble of planting new plants or completely changing your landscape plan for that bed. Cornhusks or stalks and hay bales are also a great way to add texture to either flowerbeds or your entryway. Flower garden ideas do not always have to include flowers!

Think Beside The Box

If you have a mailbox at the edge of your yard you can utilize that space to add some fall decorations or fall plants. Your mailbox is likely visible from the street and some mums, pumpkins, or corn stalks can give it a festive look for the season.

Fall Planters

If you have a small space rather than an expansive yard to decorate, or you are looking to add some plants and color to a smaller area a planter is a great way to do that. Garden planter ideas include not only the fall flowers to plant, but also what you are going to plant them in. You can utilize more rustic items, such as a galvanized bucket, rusty pail, or a wooden planter.

Rake Those Leaves

It may be tempting to ignore the leaves that have fallen from the trees; autumn is all about falling leaves, right? Leaves that have fallen can trap moisture on not only your lawn, but also on your driveway and sidewalks, making for a potentially slick situation. Leaves that are left on your grass and trapped under snow can cause harm to your lawn by promoting mold growth. When spring arrives and the snow melts, you will be especially thankful to not be dealing with wet and moldy leaves that have been sitting on your lawn for months. If you do want to utilize those fallen leaves you can make a couple passes over them with a lawn mower. Once they are cut into small pieces they can be utilized as organic mulch that your flowers will love!

If you are making some fall landscape plans that fall outside of what you can handle yourself call Second Nature and we will help bring your vision to life, call us today!