Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Home & Garden
  • Style & Culture
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • These Haircuts Are Going To Be Huge in 2021

      The trendy haircuts you’ll be seeing everywhere next year. Read More Next
    • How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Read More Next
    • The Right Way to Heat a Pre-Cooked Ham

      It's so easy, trust us. Read More Next
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food

    Lost Cakes of the South

    These simple and spectacular Southern cakes deserve a comeback
    • All Food
    • All Recipes
    • Holidays & Occasions
    • Quick Fix Suppers
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Casseroles
    • Healthy Recipes
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See All Holidays & Entertaining

    70 Wedding Vow Examples That Will Melt Your Heart

    Fight writer's block and find ways to express your love with these romantic, funny, and short wedding vow examples.
    • Christmas
    • Entertaining
    • Thanksgiving
    • Southern Weddings
    • Easter
    • Kentucky Derby
    • Valentine's Day
    • 4th of July
    • Mother's Day
  • Home & Garden

    Home & Garden

    See All Home & Garden

    7 Paint Colors We’re Loving for Kitchen Cabinets in 2020

    ‘Tis the season to ditch your all-white palette in favor of something a little bolder and brighter.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Before & After
    • Inspired Communities
    • Curb Appeal
    • House Plans & Builders
    • The Grumpy Gardener
    • Plant Names A-Z
  • Style & Culture

    Style & Culture

    See All Style & Culture

    50 Books Everyone Should Read in Their Lifetime

    Curl up with a classic!
    • Southern Culture
    • Hair
    • Travel
    • Beauty
    • Pets
    • Southern Fashion
    • Healthy Living
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Southern Living
  2. Gardening Ideas
  3. 27 Gorgeous Fall Flowers for Your Best Autumn Garden

27 Gorgeous Fall Flowers for Your Best Autumn Garden

By Michelle Darrisaw
July 15, 2019
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Credit: Photo: Helen Norman
Who says you can only enjoy pretty flowers during spring and summer? When the temperature starts to drop, your garden may end up suffering from neglect and overgrown plants. However, just because the end of summer is near, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of your garden. As the days get shorter, it’s time to brighten up your landscaping, flower beds, and container gardens. All it takes is planting a few perennials and annuals to keep your garden alive through cold-weather season. Here, we’ve stuck to tradition and picked autumn beauties such as pansies, coneflowers, sedum, and mums in an array of textures and variant jewel-tone shades like red, gold, orange, and purple. But, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see a softer color palette represented in this blooming collection, too. We’d agree that spring garners the most attention for gardening enthusiasts. In all actuality, though, we think Southern gardens really show their true colors in fall. Don’t believe us? Scroll for a little growing inspiration and dose of autumnal whimsy.
Start Slideshow

1 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

All Fired Up

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Highlight the bounty of autumn by packing your garden with a variety of plants, such as sedum, purple cabbage, ornamental peppers, Mexican bush sage, and cosmos. The fiery shades of orange and yellow are balanced by the cooler tones of purple of blue in this vibrant container mix. Add colorful stacked pumpkins to really take your garden to the next level.

1 of 27

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Stunning Marigold Container

Credit: Photo: Helen Norman

Marigolds add a splash of bright orange and yellow to container gardens. Enjoy these hardy blooms throughout summer and early fall.

2 of 27

3 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Tall Lavender Wands

Credit: Photo: White Oak Gardens

Russian sage makes a bold statement in any garden—both for its purple-silvery color and for its height, which can reach up to 5 feet, with a spread of 3 feet.

3 of 27

Advertisement

4 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Tough-As-Nails Perennials

Credit: Photo: Rob Cardillo

Perennials are plants that not only survive through early fall, but they also thrive. Here, viola, euphorbia, and variegated ivy are merged with pink Lenten rose to create a beautiful home container.

4 of 27

5 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Decorative Mums and Pumpkins

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

The classic combination of mums and pumpkins will give your front entry a warm welcome this fall.

5 of 27

6 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Sun-Kissed Flower

Credit: Photo: High Country Gardens

While perennial sunflowers don't bear the large flowering heads like their annual counterparts, these long-blooming, daisy-like plants are still just as bright. Plant once and enjoy for years to come.

6 of 27

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Fire Up Fall With Color

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Lantana is a fall-blooming favorite that will reward you handsomely with abundant flowers and plenty of color this season. Thrill, fill, and spill your containers with it, as well as fountain grass and sweet potato vines.

7 of 27

8 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Edible Attraction

Credit: Photo: Southern Living

This container garden is both a feast for the eyes and the plate, since it contains leafy lettuce greens and colorful violas and mums.

8 of 27

9 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Cheery Chrysanthemums

Credit: Photo: Van Chaplin

If you could pick any plant for your garden's grand finale, it should be the official flower of autumn—chrysanthemum. Mix in a little coleus to really make your containers shine.

9 of 27

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

All-Star Aster

Credit: Photo: King of Wallpapers

Plant asters in late summer, and you’ll enjoy a vivid display in a myriad of different shades, including blues, reds, pinks, and purples from mid-September through November.

10 of 27

11 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Mumkins

Credit: Photo: Hector Sanchez

This is the brilliant result when mums are packed inside pumpkins to add autumnal flair to your entryway.

11 of 27

12 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Stair-Step Violas

Credit: Southern Living

These red viola-filled containers have serious curb appeal. A display like this deserves to be front and center.

12 of 27

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

A Fragrant Addition

Credit: Photo: Kathy Diemer/A Garden for All

If you haven't already, you'll fall in love with wispy anise hyssop. Not only is it a beautiful flower to plant, but it's also a medicinal herb and scented perennial that attracts bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.

13 of 27

14 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Dramatic Pansy Container

Credit: Southern Living

When you grow tired of smaller-bloom violas, try their floral country cousin—pansies. These eye-catching flowers will liven up your garden through fall.

14 of 27

15 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Bright and Bold Foliage

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Bright colors and bold foliage lend themselves to an impressive container garden display.

15 of 27

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Stacked Violas

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Galvanized buckets filled with violas and creeping Jenny are true garden gems.

16 of 27

17 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Sunny Marigolds

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Say hello to this late-season beauty.

17 of 27

18 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Bursting Bulbs

Credit: Photo: Growing with Plants

Colchicum is a winter-grower with a major wow factor!

18 of 27

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Flame-Grower

Credit: Photo: Fleuroselect

For vertical height and tri-color impact, you can't go wrong with velvety heleniums. In addition, they're also a great deer and rabbit repeller.

19 of 27

20 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Heirloom Blooms

Credit: Photo: Ralph Lee Anderson

No fall garden should be without these petite Heirloom violas or, as they're often called, "Johnny Jump-Ups."

20 of 27

21 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Classic Mums

Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson

Mum's the word.

21 of 27

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

22 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Autumn Joy

Credit: Photo: Gardening with Charlie Nardozzi

A late-blooming standout, sedums require very little attention and they’re drought tolerant. You can either plant the creeping, low-growers or tall, vertical sedums. Both types offer tiny, colorful clusters in pink, yellow, red, white, or purple.

22 of 27

23 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Versatile Fall Container

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez

Bring a little enchantment and excitement to a rustic planter with mums and foliage.

23 of 27

24 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Prolific Butterfly Magnet

Credit: Photo: Natural Living Ideas

By far, one of the longest-lasting bloomers and showiest plants that make up the perennial group. You and the butterflies will appreciate the purple coneflower's large, rose flowers and rust-colored central cone.

24 of 27

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

25 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

A Monochromatic Container

Credit: Robbie Caponetto; Design: Mark Thompson

Move over, mums—there’s another colorful perennial that’s taking center stage in containers. Loosen things up with free-flowing asters. Mix purple ones with ornamental cabbage, Mexican bush sage, purple waffle plant, lamb’s ears, and ‘Purple Prince’ alternanthera to create this moody fall display. Blooming in late summer and early fall, asters can withstand the South’s fickle autumn temperatures.

25 of 27

26 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Tip-Top Shape

Credit: Robbie Caponetto; Produced by: Mark Thompson

An evergreen topiary like this ball-form spruce is also a hard worker, going strong through fall and winter. Pair it with ‘Orange Marmalade’ firecracker flower, and it will feel at home on the porch during the changing seasons. Firecracker flower (also called crossandra) is an MVP from late August through early fall as its colorful bloom spikes continue to shine even when most other summer flowers are dying off. If your area gets a final heat wave, firecracker flower will take it in stride as long as you keep it watered.

26 of 27

27 of 27

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Endless Color

Marigolds and coneflowers make a magnificent summer-to-fall transition.

Plant variegated sweet flag in the center, surround it with alternating plantings of bright coneflowers and marigolds. Fill in the outer edges with ivy, allowing it to spill over the sides. water regularly, particularly if the sweet flag and ivy are sitting in direct light. The flowers love full sun and will provide color for a long time (even until the first frost) if spent blooms are removed throughout the season.

27 of 27

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Michelle Darrisaw

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 27 All Fired Up
2 of 27 Stunning Marigold Container
3 of 27 Tall Lavender Wands
4 of 27 Tough-As-Nails Perennials
5 of 27 Decorative Mums and Pumpkins
6 of 27 Sun-Kissed Flower
7 of 27 Fire Up Fall With Color
8 of 27 Edible Attraction
9 of 27 Cheery Chrysanthemums
10 of 27 All-Star Aster
11 of 27 Mumkins
12 of 27 Stair-Step Violas
13 of 27 A Fragrant Addition
14 of 27 Dramatic Pansy Container
15 of 27 Bright and Bold Foliage
16 of 27 Stacked Violas
17 of 27 Sunny Marigolds
18 of 27 Bursting Bulbs
19 of 27 Flame-Grower
20 of 27 Heirloom Blooms
21 of 27 Classic Mums
22 of 27 Autumn Joy
23 of 27 Versatile Fall Container
24 of 27 Prolific Butterfly Magnet
25 of 27 A Monochromatic Container
26 of 27 Tip-Top Shape
27 of 27 Endless Color

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Login

Southern Living

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Books from Southern Living
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Southern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com