Outdoor Fall Harvest Planters

As long as I can remember, I have loved to decorate for the holidays and seasons. For many years I lived in condos, decorating my interior for the season. For the last few years I have been living in a home with both interior and exterior spaces to decorate, and couldn't be happier. Having an outdoor space has opened up a whole new world of decor to me - gardens, planters, porch decor and outdoor space design.

This past spring, as with the rest of the world, my pre-planned spring break and summer travel plans were cancelled, so I decided to invest in some really nice quality planters and florals to enhance my outdoor living spaces. I sourced and shopped all over BC, ending up at Garden Works , a local Vancouver (Burnaby) nursery. Their selection of gorgeous planters was fabulous and the staff were extremely helpful with tips to extend the life of outdoor pieces. I was looking for a more linear, modern feel for my outdoor space, so I purchased two black rectangular planters (shown below) and two tall square planters to flank either side of the front door on the porch (Fall porch decor post coming soon).

Right now ,the rectangular planters line the side of my outdoor seating area, providing some privacy from the road and my neighbours walkway. The planting beds I have in front of the house porch are still very much in bloom with summer annuals (Coleus, Napier Grass, Hydrangeas - they are in their second bloom of the season!, etc.), so I decided to keep with the already existing colour scheme - purples and greens. I added white in as a third "colour" to contrast, brightening up the planters and the entire outdoor living space.

When I build seasonal planters, I try and use some perennials (grasses usually) and some annuals (I plan ahead to what can be used in both fall and winter planters later on keeping in mind that Vancouver is in climate zone 7/8 so not all plants will thrive during the late fall to winter cold and freezing).

I also try and think about using plants with a variety of heights and colours in planter boxes. Adding foliage with a variety of heights adds depth and allows the planter to look full.

Both of my rectangular planters had two established perennial Oktoberfest Grasses I planted in early summer. The grasses grew by a few feet and have a beautiful feather developing at the top. So, what my fall planter needed to last into the chillier months was some "filler" and "spiller" plants (see my post here to read more on the "thriller", "filler" and "spiller" framework for flowers and foliage).

This fall I was able to find all of my Fall Planter materials (plants, pumpkins, gourds, etc.) at Cedar Rim Nurseries in Langley, BC. It is a beautiful family run nursery with a large selection of seasonal items and plants.

As the Oktoberfest grasses ("thriller") with their top feathers provided height and have spread out a considerable amount, I wanted to add some bottom trailing plants to the middle of the planter ("spiller") to break up all the green. Heuchera is a beautiful, leggy purple plant that will grow and dip down over the edge of the planter toward the ground. Heuchera comes in a variety of colours and leaf patterns. I went for one Wild Rose varietal (in between the two grasses), but have used Northern Exposure in other seasonal planters.

For "filler" I used two ornamental Kale (there are a variety of different colours) with a purple centre to go with my colour scheme and two white Dusty Miller plants (also a perennial - so this will last into my winter planter) to add another height layer and visual interest.

To start making the Fall Planters, I made sure that the bottom of the planter had good drainage. Then I used a good quality potting soil and mixed in some compost (this was before I planted the grasses). For fall, I moved and placed the Heuchera, Kale and Dusty Miller plants around the planter until I found the best configuration. Using a small trowel, I dug the holes for the new plants being careful not to disturb the established grasses. I added one small teaspoon of bone meal into each hole to help the potted plant roots transition into the planter soil. I then added the plants into place and topped them with soil. Lastly, I sprinkled a small amount of plant and flower fertilizer on top and gave the planters some water.

When planting fall planters, you want to pack in more plants than you would a spring or summer planter, as the days are getting shorter and the temperature is dropping, so the plants will not grow as much as they would in other seasons. So to have a fuller planter, add more plants! To fill in any remaining holes and add an additional nod to Fall, I used white pumpkins and green gourds as embellishments.

Let me know if you make any fall planters, I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments below, or see your photos on Instagram - send to #mykuratedlife .

Stay tuned for more fall outdoor decorating ideas coming next week!

Happy Planting,

Krista xo