Fall Outdoor Decorating Tips

Who else loves decorating for fall? The anticipation of the upcoming holidays and the changing of the seasons all add to the excitement surrounding fall. As the trees begin to change color, here are some easy decorating tips for your fall outdoor decor/garden.

🍁Mix up Pumpkins, Gourds & Squashes on Your Porch

Oh wait! Actually pumpkins, gourds and squashes are actually all subspecies of the same family (Cucurbitaceae). Don't worry, you don't really need to know this but I can't help it, I am a plant person. 😉 So for reference, pumpkins are actually also squashes and squashes are well...squashes. Basically all squashes are edible. Whereas gourds are considered not edible and for decorative purposes only (they actually are edible but it would take a lot of work to try to cook them and then they wouldn't be too flavorful).

With so many varieties of squashes and gourds, you can easy add different textures and colors to your porch. From "Prizewinner", "New Moon", "Goosebumps" to "Cinderella", the list of pumpkins choices goes on and on. Some of my favorite squash varieties include "Acorn", "Butternut" and "Spaghetti". All so tasty and you can often find these in your local grocery store in the produce section! For inedible gourds, I love "Apple", "Extra Long Handle Dipper", "Turk's Turban" and "Speckled Swan". All these inedible gourds can be found at your local pumpkin patch and really add a unique touch to your fall porch decor.

In regards to all of these, after you have used them for decorating you can always put them in your garden beds to decompose over winter. This is what we do and we get surprised in the fall with the various gourds that come up and you can even share them with your neighbors.

🍁Add Fall Wreaths to Your Front Door

Adding a quick festive wreath is so easy to do and yet adds so much to an entryway. You can find fresh varieties at places like your local farmer's market or even a food delivery service like "Farm Fresh to You". Or you can try your hand at making your own. If you are not up for making your own, check out Etsy for some truly special creations. Etsy has fresh varieties but also some unique re-usable wreaths that are made of a myriad of materials. I am endlessly impressed by the creativity of handicraft people. Of course, you can also buy some fake plastic wreaths at the big retailers or HomeGoods/Overstock just make sure when buying these that you plan to reuse them year after year so they don't end up in the landfill.

🍁Colorful Mums Add a POP of Color

The best part of chrysanthemums (mums for short) is that they are perennial plants. Meaning that these fantastically fall feeling plants will come back year after year. You can add them to a colorful bed and when Fall comes these showstoppers will be adding some festive colors in your garden. They come in numerous colors but to really get the Fall effect, I suggest have you opt for ones in Fall colors like burgundy, orange and yellow. If you buy some to add to your front porch planters, then when you are done with them, add them to your garden bed to have them come back the following year.

🍁Mix Flowering Kale & Cabbage For a Fun Textural Touch

These are other plants that are found in every garden center during fall. Flowering kale and cabbage are the same as the ones you eat in a salad but are just made for their look as opposed to their taste. Fortunately not only do these plants look good but you can also eat them.

Adding flowering kale and cabbage to entryway pots is so easy. To make a great impact, you can bunch these together since they are slow growers so their roots won't get intertwined too quickly. The great part about these plants is that you can also add these into your winter garden when you are done with them in your entryway pots. Adding these into your raised bed planters will give you some easy edibles over winter. Flowering kale and cabbage don't like too hot of weather nor too cold of weather (below 20 degrees) so make sure to plant them in your raised beds after the heat of fall.

🍁For Dainty Color, Violas & Pansies Are Oh So P