Create a fall floral display in containers

Container gardening is a great way to showcase annual flowers and even some fall perennials when they are performing at their peak. Fall is a great time of year to add some color to your front porch, for example, by creating containers full of fall flowers. However, rather than just placing some large chrysanthemums in baskets on your front porch, try being a bit more creative. Oddly enough, you can probably save some money, too, by going this route.

When searching out mums for your fall display, avoid the very large and much more expensive specimens. Instead, choose the smaller ones that can usually be purchased for $2-4.00 each. (They will grow and fairly quickly.) By buying smaller mums, you can afford to play with color more. For example, you might decide to use traditionally fall colors, such as yellow or orange. On the other hand, you might prefer shades of purple, which is a color choice that may be dictated by other fall plant choices that will be discussed later.

Playing with color will also draw you to other fall flowers, such as pansies. Pansies can be found in almost any color that you can imagine, from white to black. For a Halloween display, you could decide to use orange and black pansies. (I did this one year, and it was quite effective.) For Thanksgiving, you might want to use more fall colors, such as yellows, oranges, reds, and browns.

Do not forget to use such non-flowering plants such as ornamental kale. You can find this plant in colors from a bright green to a deep, dark purple. They also have different leaf forms, with some being more crinkled than others.

Once you have chosen all of your fall plants, it is time to put them together. The secret to a great-looking seasonal container is to fill it as full as you possibly can with plants. Do not worry about spacing. If you have a square-inch of space, put a plant there. I have a window box that I filled with plants for my front porch. (Window boxes, by the way, do not need to be hung under a window or from decks to be effective. You can set them anywhere your heart desires.) In this one container, I put one yellow mum, one white mum, two red mums, and an ornamental kale. I filled in the spaces with pansies -- yellow, white, purple, lilac, and red. (The ornamental kale is a deep, deep purple; therefore, purple and lilac pansies work well with it.) You might want to stick with shades of purple, which means that you might decide to use the lavender-colored mums that are usually available along with pansies in various shades of purple. Whatever plants you decide to use and whatever type of container you use, do make sure that you fill the container completely. Once your container is filled, you can add some type of seasonal decoration if you wish. (I added a scarecrow to my window box.)

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