9 Fun Fall Outdoor Container Ideas

Rather than just placing a potted mum by the doorway, why not unleash your inner artist and create a fall vignette worthy of a painting? Here, assorted mums and chartreuse sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas) serve as the focal point, while pumpkins, squash and gourds complete the picture. A wonder fall container creation. Check out the best fall flowers (that aren’t mums).

Why not convert a pumpkin into a planter? It’s sure to bring smiles. Line the pumpkin inside with wax paper before planting and it should last at least a month. The perfect fall container. For another fun fall display, learn how to make a tipsy pumpkin planter.

Ornamental grasses are a popular fall container plant. As they often peak during that season with ripening flowerheads and changing foliage. Purple fountaingrass is a fine example. It can work with other plants or call attention to itself without any help. It’s also an appropriate size for containers. Learn how to grow ornamental grasses.

Chrysanthemums are the most recognizable flower of fall and for good reason—they stand out! They are bold enough to work on their own but look great in combination with complementary colors. These pink and white mums are a good example. Here’s our top 10 favorite purple flowers for your garden.

Kale grows in popularity year after year. Edible varieties are valued for their nutrients. Ornamental varieties, called flowering kale, are a visual delight in the fall garden. They are frost tolerant and look more colorful as temperatures drop. Flowering kale plants are also more compact than edible varieties and work well in a fall container. Meet more edible flowers you can eat.

Some of the most interesting fall container displays gather together a collection of plants and accessories. Here, mums are joined by kale, ornamental grass and a dwarf conifer. They’re in color-coordinated pots, which are less distracting visually. Also, the earth tone of the containers sets a nice backdrop for the orange, white and gray pumpkins. Learn 5 fascinating facts about pumpkins.

Don’t want to make a lot of fuss creating a fall container vignette? You can stick with one plant and put it in a key spot where it’s easily seen and enjoyed. Gerbera daisies are an unexpected delight, blooming in a range of colors right until frost. Orange is a traditional fall color, but there are whites, yellows and pinks, too. Meet some other easy-to-grow container plants.

Sometimes adding a plant with a contrasting shape and texture is the perfect touch. As colorful and vibrant as these pansies are, they carry a tad more visual interest in this hanging basket with the addition of a spiky dracaena. Flowers do more than look pretty. Here’s how to help migrating monarchs with fall nectar flowers.

For a fall container display that won’t be missed, go big. Big on size, big on variety, and big on color. Large yellow mums are massed for effect, then complemented with orange and white varieties. Meanwhile, a cascading ornamental grass and upright conifer frame the picture. Here’s the top 10 fall flowers for a perennial garden.