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When we think of flowers and bright colors in the garden, we often think of plants that flourish in spring and summer.
Unfortunately, by the time the temperature starts to drop, all those pretty plants have long-since bloomed — leaving my yard looking, well, dead.
But as the days grow shorter and the temperatures cool, you can still have plenty of pretty colors in your garden. You don’t have to have a barren garden for half the year while you wait for spring to come back around.
Check out these perfect plants for your fall garden that will bring plenty of color.
These fiery flowers have been the go-to fall flower for a long time now. Not only will they bring plenty of seasonal shades of red, orange, yellow, white, and even pink, but they’re also one of the easiest plants to grow. And thanks to their popularity, you can find these flowers just about anywhere, and in a wide variety of sizes.
You didn’t think all of your garden’s color had to come from flowers, did you? Purple fountain grass also boasts pretty color! It’s the ideal accent to plant along with fall flowers. The burgundy purple color of the foliage pairs great with other seasonal colors, and adds plenty of interest.
The name for this plant comes from an Ancient Greek word that means “burning,” and it’s easy to see why. The flame-like blooms will provide bright yellows, oranges, scarlet reds, and deep burgundy purples, plus their unusual shape will add a fun vertical texture to your garden beds.
Flowering kale is also sometimes called ornamental kale or flowering cabbage. As the name implies, it is part of the Brassicaceae family that includes the varieties of kale and cabbage that we eat.
This kind is grown purely for show, though. Its ruffled leaves featuring pinks, purples, and reds offer dramatic and unique color to your garden, and it holds up pretty well to frosty temperatures. That means that it will look good all winter long if your area has a mild winter!
You may have seen this beauty as a popular houseplant, but depending on your climate, you can also feature this beauty outdoors. In some places, like their native tropical forests of southeast Asia, they grow as large shrubs and even reach up to 100 feet tall!
They are perennial evergreen shrubs that do best outside in zones 9 through 11. If temperatures dip below 50 degrees Fahrenheit where you live, you might want to think about bringing your croton indoors until spring comes back around.
Cooler temperatures always remind me of pansies. That’s because my mom picked up a couple of flats of these every fall when I was a kid — and she still does to this day. They come in just about any shade you could think of, there are big ones and tiny blooms, some varieties grow in tidy mounds while others trail and are ideal as ground cover or in hanging baskets.
Where I live, they’ll thrive all winter long. But even in regions where winters are colder, these plants will rebound when soil temperatures shift and will bloom again in the spring.
