6 Creative Ideas for Styling Your Fall Containers

Taking in all this gorgeous autumn scenery has got us in a creative mood, so we’ve put together some fall Container ideas for Houston, Texas gardeners. We wanted to think beyond the classic chrysanthemum arrangement and try something a little different. You might even say we’re pumpkin spicing things up a bit. Give your home and landscape an autumn glow-up with some of these themed ornamental planters in the season’s most gorgeous colors.

6 Container Designs for Autumn 2020

When you put together a pot, you want it to have some staying power, with an attractive design that transitions well through the next few months. While it’s easy enough to stick a few Halloween decorations in a planter and string up some spooky lights, once October is over and the ghosts and spiders come down, you don’t wanna be left with a boring, half-empty display. Here’s some inspiration for plant combinations and color schemes for your autumn container arrangements and window boxes. 

Golden Hour

An all-gold planter arrangement radiates warmth and perfectly complements the surrounding scenery. Choose some fall foliage plants that sport golden leaves all the time—not just when the leaves are about to drop. Celocia come in plenty of different warm tones, and bronze heuchera have a nearly metallic effect that glistens in the sun. Add in some yellow flowers like snapdragons and pansies and some warm-hued sedge grass for a little bit of height and movement, and your container will have maximum impact.

Autumn Accents

If you’re big into the holiday decorating, try making themed planters full of your favorite autumn decor. Arrange some jumbo pine cones, small pumpkins and gourds, and strings of copper lights in a box with a few foliage plants in shades of red, orange, yellow, or purple. For a little extra flair, try painting a couple of the pinecones or pumpkins with an accent color paint like metallic gold or white. 

Sugared Plum

The red and golden tones are pretty standard for autumn, so if you’re growing a little tired of the same old, then try and experiment with some other rich jewel tones and a cooler palette. You’ll be amazed at how elegant deep plum flowers and silver foliage plants look together. Ornamental kales and cabbages with dark purple centers and purple petunias add rich color to the arrangement, while plants like dusty miller and lavender add a frosted, icy effect with their silvery-grey foliage. 

Colorful Crotons

We love crotons as both houseplants and outdoor plants here in Houston! They do a little better if they’ve got a bit of shade, so if you have a north-facing house or awnings shade your windows, you can give your outdoor crotons a very happy home. Their neon red, yellow and green leaves are so cheerful and vibrant, and you can fill in the gaps between plants with decorative pebbles in complementary colors. The pebbles will help conserve moisture, as crotons are accustomed to a bit more humidity, and the stones will block the sun from evaporating all the water too quickly. 

Classic Halloween 

Throw it back to the OG Halloween color palette with orange and black plants! There are a few heuchera varieties with nearly black foliage that pop beautifully against fiery orange flowers (and maybe a few little mini pumpkins, too). Orange celosia has a beautiful torch-like appearance, while orange ornamental peppers look almost like little candies sprouting out from a bed of leaves. Add in a few little Halloween accents for October, then remove them in November and your arrangements will still look top-notch.

Antique Aesthetic

Got any dried blooms from your perennial flowers and shrubs? You can totally fill flower boxes with dried flowers and plants like hydrangeas, eucalyptus, larkspur, celosia, strawflowers, African daisies, and lavender. The muted, dusty effect of their subtle coloring adds a rustic, antique vibe, and you can even mix in a few sheaves of wheat for a little extra autumnal flair. Use a vintage metal or wooden box with a distressed finish to really bring on the vintage vibes. Be sure to secure your bundles of flowers and plants with some string and tape it into the box so the wind doesn’t blow them all out.  

Ready to give your home’s exterior an instant makeover? Visit Plants for All Seasons to see all the gorgeous fall flowers and plants that are ready to go home today. We still have home delivery and curbside pickup options available if need be, so feel free to give us a call at the shop if you’d like to set something up.