91K Views
Fall Container Update on a Budget
by
Three Dogs in a Garden
(IC: blogger)
How to give summer container plantings a budget update for fall.
Most of my container plantings have gone the distance and are still looking good as we head into fall, but the concrete urn at the entrance to the back garden is in desperate need of an update. Back in June, the urn looked rather pretty.
Though this part of southern Ontario has felt downright tropical this summer, the fact that this is Canada is foremost among my considerations. There are maybe four or six weeks before we get the first fall frost. Any annuals I may plant are bound to parish in the first real cold snap sometime in October. I refuse to spend a fortune to see me through a matter of a few weeks. A short season determines that this is going to be an container update on a limited budget!
Who says a fall color scheme has to be orange, red and yellow anyway? This mauve and purple color scheme is really rather nice.
The mums are familiar plant choice, but the ornamental peppers and the Celosia are a bit more novel. Celosia is a fairly versatile choice as it comes in a variety of red shades- everything from hot pink to lipstick red.
Investing Longterm:
As well as Sedum, there are a few other types of perennials that you can plant out in the garden once your fall container has done its job. For instance, Heuchera offers a wide selection cultivars that come in terrific fall colors.
Heuchera 'Marmalade' on the left and Heuchera 'Crimson Curls' on the right
Bring the Indoors Out:
All this inspiration was great but, I really wanted to come up with a last minute budget option that anyone could use to makeover a summer container.
I also splurged on a Red Fountain Grass (annual here) that was $6.99. Here is how they all fit in to my urn:
Once I had my placement done, I removed everything from its pot and planted them into the urn.
Even my rusty robin looks great with the soft Fountain Grass. For even more ideas, please see my blog post.
Enjoyed the project?
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Published September 27th, 2016 9:00 AM
Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 21 comments
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Do you have a diagram of what plants can be potted together? I'm new at this and i wanted to make a type of rock garden with planters only because we're not allowed to dig & plant into the soil. So my landlord said i can lay down that black material and pour river rock or other type of rock and use planters. So i want to make like a 12 x 12 area of just potted plants and maybe put a bench in there... etc. But i'm not sure what will grow together. I'm in northwestern ontario, i have cats, and lots of deer that comes around, so i don't want to use plants that are harmful to pets and wildlife. Any ideas?