Ideas for Updating Your Fall Planter

Get ideas for easy and affordable ways to update your fall planter. Using plants still looking good and purchasing a few new ones to freshen up for fall.

By the time fall arrives some planters are looking really rangy, while others are still going strong. I hate ripping out perfectly beautiful plants for those planters that still look really good, but I also love decorating for fall. Often I try to marry the two by updating a planter for fall and keeping some of the good looking plants a little while longer.

Updating Your Fall Planter

Sometimes updating a fall planter means getting creative.

In the image above you can see my shady front porch planter at the end of summer. The blue bells are a little skimpy and the Bacopa looks pretty bad, but the other plants still look pretty good.

All you need to do is buy a few key "fall" plants to spruce up the current planter. I decided to choose cool colors that would coordinate well with the plants already in the pot. I chose a raspberry colored mum, a pretty green and purple ornamental cabbage. They work really well with the magenta in the Perilla Magilla, and the blue-gray of the begonia.

These plants would normally need more sun than I have on this porch, however, the leaves are falling quickly on the maple tree that shades this area, so they should do okay. I also picked up a new heirloom pumpkin and placed it right up front in the planter for a little added texture and a little traditional fall color.

Surrounding the base with dried gourds and faux pumpkins I have in my fall stash finishes the look.  

This fall planter decoration took about  20 minutes to put together and cost me about $12.  You could easily place one of the gourds or the faux pumpkins in the planter instead of purchasing a real pumpkin.

At this time of year, mums are everywhere and are a great fall choice. Other options include ornamental vegetables like flowering kale and the ornamental cabbage I purchased. Often you can find pansies in a wide range of colors as they do great with the cool weather.  

Also, don't be afraid to add non-plant accent pieces like the pumpkin. Indian corn, fresh gourds, and corn husks can add a nice fall touch to your planter too.

My mom was big on sayings like, "Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater." I think that oldie but goodie fits in this instance. Don't throw out your good plants and replace them all. Just update them for fall.