Just because your outdoor planters are placed in the shade doesn’t mean they can’t be full of vibrant color. The planters in my front garden are almost completely shaded, so I need to be careful what plants I choose. Not only should the plants be well-suited for the lack of light, but they also need to have bold hues to brighten up the space.
These are the planters that I decorate each season. They welcome our guests as they come through the front garden and up to the house, so low-maintenance plants are a necessity!
I was thrilled when Monrovia offered to send me some plants to perk up my fall garden. While the plants were provided to me at no cost, all of the opinions and designs remain my own. Perennials are great to use in containers because they last through many seasons. You can simply add in additional plants when the old ones have faded or divide out those that are overgrown and move them to the garden beds.
Monrovia’s plants are always very high quality and they have the most gorgeous varieties. I love Heucheras at this time of year because they do very well in my garden and climate, but also for the foliage color, which is bold enough to put even flowers to shame. I used those Heucheras as the basis of my fall container design updates with a few additional plants, both from Monrovia and other nurseries.
Here are the plants that I used:
- Creeping Wintergreen, Gaultheria procumbens ‘Very Berry’
- Heuchera ‘Berry Smoothie’
- Heuchera ‘Peach Flambé’
- Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’
- Gold fountain Sedge, Carex dolichostachya ‘Kaga Nishiki’
- Japanese anemone (from my garden)
- Coleus ‘Lime Time’ (left over from my summer garden)
The creeping wintergreen is an evergreen that will grow and fill in over the fall, when the leaves turn purple. It will produce fragrant white flowers and then red berries for a continual show throughout the year. The lime green of the sedge complements the fiery peach Heuchera.
Heucheras have my heart – they are so full and bright, I just want to eat them up! It doesn’t help that their names sound delicious. Plum Pudding, Berry Smoothie, and Peach Flambe are appropriately yummy descriptors for the colors gracing this fabulous foliage.
Japanese Anemone or Windflowers are a garden favorite. In my garden they spread like crazy so I like them in containers to keep them under control. I pulled a few from my garden to add to these containers. They do like morning sun, but in full shade they produce deeper colors—however the flowers are fewer.
These containers were made for the shade. With a combination of plants that thrive in shade, do well in fall, and will look beautiful well into the winter, these planters are superstars that keep on performing with little care.
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Thoughts on edible fall planters? I have some ideas (my name links to a post I wrote about it), but I was wondering what you thought. Seems leafy greens thrive in the fall, along with broccoli and cauliflower. I was thinking about a circular planter with one of those head veggies as the centerpiece, surrounded by some scallions or spinach?
Hi Kevin, I would definitely include kale but broccoli and cauliflower may be a bit big for containers. Scallions and spinach will work, and maybe some swiss chard for colour?
Hi Stephanie,
I have attempted to contact you through your contact form with no luck.I wrote you several months ago about an article and never got a response. Also a few days ago I wrote you about doing a roundup post linking to your article on a fall planter, and again didn’t get a response. I understand how busy things can get between blogging and personal life but I just want to make sure that you are receiving them or maybe they are going to spam. Please contact me either email or blog. Thank you, Matt
Hi Matt, thanks for your comment. I didn’t receive any emails from you that I can see. Go ahead and send it over to stevie at gardentherapy dot ca and I’ll look it over next week. Thanks!