Fall Flowers

Now that the weather is about to start cooling off and football season is well on its way, its time to start thinking about planting our favorite fall flowers. Your choice of fall flowers will be with throughout the holiday season. What better way to greet your guests than with two beautiful planters flanking your front door or fall flowers lining your sidewalk. There are so many beautiful colors and combinations to choose from. Below are a few of my favorites and a some simple steps to hopefully keep your flowers looking lovely throughout the season.

via www.homestoriesatoz.com via www.southernliving.com This lovely trio is orange pansies, violas, and orange panels, also paired with wheat grass and ivy.

How to care for your pansies. Pansies are not difficult to grow. Good soil, steady moisture, and at least partial sun will provide the results you’re looking for. What they don’t tolerate is heat and humidity, which is why they thrive in spring and fall. Plant pansies 6 to 8 inches apart. Pansies respond well to regular deadheading. As often as possible, every couple of days if you can, pinch off faded blooms and any fruit (small green seed capsules) that may be forming. This will spur plants to continue blooming. Be sure they’re growing in a well-drained location, pansies are susceptible to saturated soil.

via www.southernliving.com This arrangement of pink blooms of ‘Strawberry Sundae’ twin spurs (Diascia hybrid) is paired with a beautiful pale purple pansy.

via www.southernliving.com Pair colorful pansies with an evergreen for an established planting that can still change from season to season.

via www.southernliving.com Place two of these cheerful pots flanking your front door to welcome your guests.

via www.southernliving.com

With mums, what you see is what you get, so buy the bigger plant. When night temps drop (mid-September), buy plants as they start to break bud. You’ll maximize bloom time. Once buds start to open, you’re pretty much guaranteed flowers―no matter where you display them, they are happiest in sun. Another tip via Southern Living to keep flowers coming is by watering and pinching. Soil should be moist, but never wet. Check daily while weather is warm, every other day when it’s cooler. Fertilizing is not necessary. Remove faded blooms to encourage even more buds to open and you’ll have color through October. If plants dry out, submerge in a bucket of water, or jab a sharp pencil into the soil several times and then water.

via www.katesgarden.ca This site has beautiful spring and fall arrangement ideas.

Kale and Ornamental cabbage plants prefer cool weather. The best time to plant them is in the early fall. Planting kale in August or early September will allow the plant to become established. Ornamental Cabbage and kale should be planted in a sunny location in a moderately moist, rich soil. Water ornamental kale if the soil dries out about 1 inch deep. Water with 1 inch of water so the water seeps deep into the soil. If your fall and winters are normally wet, you might not need to water them at all.

This gorgeous arrangement was found on www.serendipityrefined.com, absolutely beautiful.

via www.reposhture.blogspot.com Ornamental cabbage, mixed with an established evergreen and ivy. This arrangement has a few Christmas tree branches, pine cones, and decorative branches to transition from the fall to Christmas holidays.