Planting and potting in autumn can be a great way to prepare your garden for the winter and ensure a healthy start for your plants in the spring. Planting autumn-blooming or foliage plants in your garden can add vibrant colors and texture to your outdoor space during the autumn season. You'll enjoy them early in the new year. Plus, you'll be doing a favour to bees and bumblebees because these spring bloomers offer them a much-needed (and scarce) source of food at that time. And with wintergreen berry bushes, you'll also attract birds to your garden, rooftop terrace, or balcony. Here are some popular autumn plants that can brighten your garden:
Top 5 autumn blooms for pots and containers
- Aster (Aster tradescantii)
- Chrysanthemums
- Heather (Erica)
- Winter pansies
- Autumn cyclamen (Alpine violet)
Top 5 evergreen berry bushes for terrace and balcony
- Gaultheria
- Pernettya
- Skimmia
- Foxberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea)
- Dwarf Buford Holly
Beautiful combinations for a pot or container
Combine the above-mentioned top picks from our garden centre's assortment with plants, bushes, and ornamental grasses with variegated, wintergreen, or beautifully changing autumn leaves. Such as:
- Trailing, wintergreen ivy
- Leucothoe, a bush with deep red-green leaves that turn even redder in autumn
- Wintergreen dwarf conifers
- Small ornamental grasses, like blue sheep's fescue, black Japanese snake grass, bronze sedge (Carex), and feather grass (Stipa tenuissima)
- The silver bush (Calocephalus brownii) with quirky, silvery-grey branches that almost glow in the dark
- Heuchera has beautiful leaves in a wide range of colours, from lime green or caramel to almost black. In mild winters, the leaves stay fresh on the plant
- Ornamental cabbages come with smooth or frilled leaves in various shades, with green, white, or pink dominating
Practical tips for planting and potting
Ensure your soil is well-draining and rich in organic matter. You can amend your soil with compost or well-rotted manure to improve its structure and fertility. If you're potting plants in containers, select containers with good drainage and the appropriate size for the plant. Use high-quality potting mix tailored to the plant's needs. Be prepared for early frosts by having frost blankets or row covers on hand to protect sensitive plants. Move potted plants indoors or to a sheltered area if necessary.
More autumn
Make your balcony or rooftop terrace extra cosy with a collection of decorative gourds, pumpkins, sturdy candles in lanterns or lantern holders, garden lighting, or a beautiful bird feeder dish or silo. We have plenty of these, as well as various spring bulbs, in our garden centre in St Albans right now.
