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  3. 27 Gorgeous Fall Flowers for Your Best Autumn Garden

27 Gorgeous Fall Flowers for Your Best Autumn Garden

Michelle Darrisaw
By Michelle Darrisaw Updated May 03, 2022
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Stunning Marigold Fall Container
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 the 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.

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All Fired Up

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.

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Stunning Marigold Container

Stunning Marigold Fall 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.

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Tall Lavender Wands

Perennial Russian Sage
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.

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Tough-As-Nails Perennials

Lenten Rose Ramble
Credit: 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.

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Decorative Mums and Pumpkins

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.

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Sun-Kissed Flower

Perennial Sunflower
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.

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Fire Up Fall With Color

Plant an Autumnal Container
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.

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Edible Attraction

Lettuce, Violas & Mums
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.

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Cheery Chrysanthemums

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.

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All-Star Aster

Aster Fall Flower
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.

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Mumkins

Carve Out a Mumkin
Credit: Hector Sanchez

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

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Stair-Step Violas

Bold Blossoms
Credit: Southern Living

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

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A Fragrant Addition

Anise Hyssop
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.

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Dramatic Pansy Container

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.

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Bright and Bold Foliage

Bright and Bold Foliage
Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

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

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Stacked Violas

Stacked Violas
Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

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

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Sunny Marigolds

Sunny Marigolds
Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Say hello to this late-season beauty.

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Bursting Bulbs

Colchicum Fall Flower
Credit: Photo: Growing with Plants

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

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Flame-Grower

Helenium Fall Flower
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.

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Heirloom Blooms

Heirloom Viola Container
Credit: Photo: Ralph Lee Anderson

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

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Classic Mums

Classic Mums
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson

Mum's the word.

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Autumn Joy

Sedum Fall Flower
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.

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Versatile Fall Container

Plant Fall Flowers
Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez

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

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Prolific Butterfly Magnet

Purple Coneflower Fall
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.

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A Monochromatic Container

Aster, Ornamental Cabbage, Mexican Bush Sage, Purple Waffle Plant, Lamb's Ears, and Alternanthera Container Garden
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.

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Tip-Top Shape

Spruce Topiary Container Garden
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.

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Endless Color

Marigolds

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.

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    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

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