5 Fall Planter Ideas

Thomas J. Story

Shades of green

Soft textures and bright chartreuse tones light up bronze-colored 17-inch-wide containers.

Shades of green plan

A. Restio multiflorus A wispy, grasslike plant that grows 3 to 4 feet tall or more, it develops brown seed heads that hang on through winter.

B. Libertia peregrinans Stiff, narrow leaves have warm tones of olive and orange; plants reach 2 feet tall.

C. Euphorbia amygdaloides robbiae This spreading foot-tall plant has rounded grass green leaves.

D. Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' Feathery green-gold foliage glows in soft autumn light. Plants reach 1½ feet tall.

Thomas J. Story

Lime and chocolate

Billowy burgundy Agonis, trailing lime-colored Grevillea, and curly plum heuchera in egg-shaped pots create a rustic vignette against a weathered wooden garage.

Lime and chocolate plan

A. Agonis flexuosa 'Jervis Bay Afterdark' A tree with feathery burgundy foliage.

B. Heuchera 'Crimson Curls' Deeply ruffled plum-toned leaves grow in a mound that reaches about 1½ feet tall.

C. Grevillea 'Fanfare' Saw-toothed leaves are coppery when young, maturing to a shade of lime. This low spreader grows 1 foot tall.

Thomas J. Story

Touch of bronze

Bronze and chartreuse foliage mingle in a 16-inch rose-blushed celadon pot.

Touch of bronze plan

A. Pieris 'Forest Flame' Fiery red new leaves fade to pink, then turn dark green when mature. This shrub prefers part-shade and can reach 10 feet tall.

B. Dryopteris erythrosora The hardy wood fern’s feathery new growth blends copper, pink, and gold tones that turn rust-colored in fall. It grows 2 feet tall.

C. 'Little John' azalea Bronzy leaves make this azalea, which can reach 6 feet tall, a choice focal point.

Thomas J. Story

Smoke and berries

Bright cotoneaster berries fringe a shapely Atlas cedar in pitted burnt-orange pots. (Large is 18 inches wide; small is 16 inches wide.)

Thomas J. Story

Smoke and berries plan

A. Weeping blue Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca Pendula') Pendulous branches sport soft-looking silvery blue needles. Slow-growing; trained to form a spiral trunk.

B. Cotoneaster dammeri 'Coral Beauty' Stiff branches with green leaves and red-orange berries add a playful touch to pots. It grows to
6 inches tall.

Black gold plan

A. Coprosma 'Roy's Red' This shrub’s glossy purple-black fall leaves turn red in winter. The plant grows 3 to 4 feet tall.

B. Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' Clumps of silky ebony blades make perfect edgings.

Thomas J. Story

Black gold

Black mondo grass edges upright coprosma in a pale gold bowl that’s 23 inches wide.

5 stylish fall container designs

Shades of green

Shades of green plan

Lime and chocolate

Lime and chocolate plan

Touch of bronze

Touch of bronze plan

Smoke and berries

Smoke and berries plan

Black gold plan

Black gold