The Garden in Autumn – Tips and ideas for your fall garden

You can still have a beautiful fall garden, even after a few nights of light frost. Use these tips and ideas to make the most of the season.

1. Ideas for the autumn garden: play with light

Autumn sunlight can be breathtaking. Use its warm golden tones to give the garden an artistic glow. This Japanese maple looks beautiful in the low autumn sun, and because the tree is only about three feet tall, nearby evergreens will not hide the fallen leaves on the ground.

2. Focus on structure

Create effective contrasts in texture. One simple approach is to choose a restrained color palette while combining plants with different leaf shapes.

3. Use perspective

Look for places where your garden can open into a view. A narrow meadow path, for example, can lead the eye toward a bench or quiet sitting area. Add grasses and colorful foliage from plants such as Chinese chestnut, dogwood, and azalea.

4 "Keep it simple"

Evergreen trees such as Japanese red pine offer reddish bark and an attractive branch structure throughout the year. Low plantings of thyme, carnations, oregano, grasses, and juniper complement the tree without drawing attention away from it. Hardy yellow chrysanthemums add a bright note of color to the landscape.

5. Mix shrubs with perennials

Shrubs provide permanent structure and interest throughout the year. Work them into perennial beds and use them as part of the composition. Purple ninebark 'Diabolo', for example, gives the border a deep, dramatic leaf color.

6. Let form support function

Use pleasant autumn days to refine an outdoor patio. Dress the area with plants that enhance the season. A bench, for example, can be framed with hardy kiwi vine; the planting also helps screen the view behind the seat.

7. Look for end-of-season bargains

Watch for large, bold plants at reduced prices late in the season. This colorful elephant grass, for example, can often be found as a good end-of-season deal.

8. Add water features

Autumn colors are beautiful, and they look even better when reflected in water.

9. Display the harvest

Pumpkins, orange fruit, grains, and dried hydrangeas are wonderful additions to the autumn garden. Arrange them in colorful combinations with cornstalks, straw baskets, or even old garden tools.

10. Use what you have

This old stone wall, almost hidden by an 'Annabelle' hydrangea, makes practical and beautiful use of the rocks already on the property.

11. Use contrasting colors

Just two plants can be enough to create a strong effect. Yellow, green, and purple combinations work especially well because they sit opposite reddish tones on the color wheel.

12. Repeat key elements

Here, lemon thyme echoes the color of the campion, while blue tones pick up the color of lavender.