5 Designer-Approved Ways to Style Your Fall Porch – With Captivating Flowers, Rich Textures and Vibrant Foliage
It's not all about pumpkins when it comes to creating the perfect fall porch
It's finally time to get your fall porch together, and, for those of us who take this task seriously, it's an opportunity to get creative and indulge in the fruits and flowers of the season.
Think outdoor fall decor ideas meet Halloween porch planting ideas, with abundant orange and yellow blooms (like in this mixed pack of chrysanthemums from Walmart), ornamental veg, and oversized planters. It's the perfect time to create a dazzling seasonal display that impresses passers-by and visitors alike, and the best part is you can personalize it to your own taste.
But with endless possibilities, getting started can feel overwhelming. That's why I asked garden designers for their favorite fall porch styling ideas – here's what they said.
1. Less is More
For Laura Janney, CEO of The Inspired Garden Masterclass, an impactful fall porch is all about fewer, yet drama-filled, fall planters.
'I am a huge fan of styling with containers and decor for fall porches, but less is more. This past year there’s been a rising trend of placing an overload of accessories (especially in fall with the explosion of pumpkins on stairs). I find it chaotic and it takes away from the beauty of the home,' Laura says.
'My favorite way to decorate porches is with two beautiful containers with an abundance of flowers. The drama of fall flowers really makes a statement on its own. To get the look, use a combination of mums, asters, rudbeckia (which you can purchase from Amazon), celosia, marigolds, grasses, cabbages, and pansies,' she describes.
Laura uses the thriller, spiller, filler container method to curate these focal points for her fall porch.
'Start by putting a thriller in the center, usually a celosia, rudebekia, or grass. Then add secondary plantings of mums and asters. On the bottom, put ornamental cabbages and fill in any empty spaces with pansies,' Laura explains. 'I like to also add a fall touch of dried decor like lotus pods.'
'Let the steps breathe. A strong focal point around the door is plenty of drama – for me, adding decor everywhere else just looks busy and takes away from the overall aesthetic. Have plantings around your entrance so the eye is naturally drawn to the doorway, which means less need for extra clutter and extra decor,' Laura continues.
To keep the planting in the limelight, you can also opt for natural materials for the planters. This includes terracotta planters and wicker baskets.
Laura Janney is a renowned landscape architect and designer, and CEO of The Inspired Garden Masterclass. She won the Houzz Best in Design award in 2023 for her work in the New York area. Driven by the belief that flowers feed the soul, Laura sees gardens as more than simply outdoor spaces – they are living, breathing sanctuaries that awaken the senses.
2. Extend the Display Indoors
When it comes to choosing a color palette for the fall porch, flower growing expert from Gathered from the Garden, Erin Williams, loves one combination in particular.
'I love the plum and peach color families for fall,' Erin says. 'For fall planters, I want something that will look beautiful on my front porch and give me fall blooms and foliage that I can cut to bring a little bit of fall inside, since I love to make flower arrangements,' she says. 'I approach my fall planters a lot like I would an arrangement - I want a focal flower, some beautiful foliage and something airy.'
'I would start with a dahlia in the center as the focal flower, and I’d look for a variety that is a prolific bloomer and does well in a container. Two of my favorites are 'Crème de Cassis' (which is available at Eden Brothers), which has soft lilac petals with a deep plum-purple center, or 'Rhubarb & Custard' (which is also available at Eden Brothers) if you want to lean into warmer peachy-red and yellow tones,' she continues.
'Around the dahlia, I would alternate asters with nasturtiums. The asters give you that airy element, while the nasturtiums provide foliage and can trail beautifully over the edge of the container,' Erin describes.
'Gleam Salmon' (you can find seeds on Amazon) is the nasturtium variety Erin recommends, with salmon-peach flowers and a trailing habit that spills over the edge of a planter.
'It’s also a cut-and-come-again flower, so you can snip both the flowers and foliage for arrangements and it will continue producing,' she adds.
'The end result is almost like having two arrangements – one outside on your porch and another waiting to happen inside. You can walk outside, snip a dahlia, a few stems of aster and some nasturtium foliage and flowers, and bring a little bit of your fall porch indoors,' Erin describes.
To harvest your cut fall flowers from your porch, have these pruning snips from Amazon to hand.
Erin Williams is a flower and garden educator based in New Jersey. Through Gathered from the Garden, she helps people grow and arrange flowers in a way that feels approachable and achievable. Erin grows flowers in her own suburban garden and loves helping others discover the joy of bringing the beauty of the garden indoors. She believes flowers have a way of making us slow down and bring a little more beauty into everyday life.
3. Combine Textures
The best fall porches don't just look amazing, they ignite all the senses – including touch. For Zara Wirkus, designer from national landscape architecture firm Hoerr Schaudt, texture makes a fall display exciting.
'As summer fades into fall, container plantings can begin to look overgrown and tired. Fall is the perfect opportunity to refresh your porch containers and bring them back to life with seasonal color, texture, and structure,' she says.
'When possible, keep one or two elements from your summer containers, such as Kimberly queen fern, cordyline, acorus, or asparagus fern, to provide a foundation for the new planting,' Zara describes.
'For a focal point, consider using fresh-cut branches in the center of the container. Branches bring height and structure and will continue to look beautiful even as the temperatures drop. Upright ornamental grasses, Kimberly queen fern (which you can find on Amazon), and Cordyline australis are also excellent choices for the central focal point,' she continues.
If you need some hardier alternatives in cooler climes, try the 'Brilliance' fern (also available on Amazon), a hardy fall fern.
Zara likes to then add textures from ornamental cabbage and ornamental kale, as seen in the image above.
'Finish the base with violas and heuchera for long-lasting color and contrast. When styling multiple containers, repeat a few plants or colors throughout to create a cohesive porch display, and don't forget to angle these filler plants outward at approximately 45 degrees so their colors and textures are visible from multiple directions,' Zara advises.
Zara is an Associate at Hoerr Schaudt. She has been working in the green industry since she was 18. Her first gig involved taking care of garden estates as part of a high-end garden maintenance crew that led her to work as a designer at a landscape design-build company. As a designer with the Continued Landscape Management group, Zara thrives when working hands-on with plants, especially perennials.
4. Focus on Foliage
Garden expert Chuck Pavlich (director of new product development with Terra Nova Nurseries), sees fall as a time to indulge in foliage.
'My choices for fall porch styling are Heuchera ‘Changeling’, Hakonechloa ‘Stripe It Rich’, and Heucherella ‘Sweet Tea’ (which is available to order from Amazon),' Chuck says.
'All three of these perennials are excellent pot specimens. They perform quite well in most exposures, but east-facing, west-facing or south-facing are best. In heavy shade, the foliage colors are more muted,' he explains.
They bring together caramel, ivory, and orangey hues for fall, creating a statement pot when planted up together.
'Eventually, ‘Stripe it Rich’ turns to a bone-beige color and the entire combo mellows with the winter chill. The Hakonechloa foliage spills over the edge of the pot and softens its look. But, Heuchera ‘Changeling’ is the star of the show and can be placed in front. These three provide textures, color, and structure for a classic yet updated look,' Chuck describes.
There are lots of other heuchera varieties and ornamental grasses you can use to create this foliage maximalist look. Explore the range of coral bells at Nature Hills.
Educated at Washington State University, Chuck Pavlich, director of new product development at Terra Nova Nurseries, has worked in the retail nursery business for 30 years. Chuck brings his passion for plants to Terra Nova and is responsible for new ideas as well as overseeing the breeding process and introducing new products to the global perennial market.
5. Elevate Your Mums
No fall porch is complete without chrysanthemums, but they can be a little predictable simply planted in a pot.
Luckily, there are lots of ways to make chrysanthemums look more expensive in fall, including using oversized vessels (this tall planter from Wayfair would put your mums on a pedestal) and grouping lots of pots together.
'Chrysanthemums are the quintessential fall plant. They come in a wide spectrum of colors, are everywhere, and inexpensive. They can even be left in the nursery pot and simply placed in a grouping, or added to your containers fall arrangement,' says Juliet Howe, award-winning horticulturist and founder of Twigs Design.
'Mums have their moment and it often isn’t very long. Depending on a few variables such as watering, temperature, and amount of sunlight, you will enjoy them anywhere from days to weeks,' Juliet notes.
To keep chrysanthemums blooming for longer, Juliet recommends buying ones with closed buds rather than those already in full bloom.
'You should also use the bottom watering technique. This means placing them in their nursery pot in a pan or sink of water and allowing them to drink for 30 minutes to an hour depending on how large they are. Mums and many fall plants have been grown in a fast-drying medium and simply watering them at the top of the soil is likely to leave dry spots inside the pot that may hasten their demise,' Juliet explains.
Juliet also recommends avoiding direct sun and deadheading as blooms fade. You can use these garden snips from Lowe's.
Juliet Howe is an award-winning horticulturist and the founder of Twigs Design. For more than two decades she has helped beautify the homes, gardens, and communities of Fairfield County, CT.
What to Shop
These are just a handful of designer-approved ways to style up your fall porch plants this year. If you really love the classic chrysanthemum look, our guide to making a fall mums porch display look instantly more stylish has more ideas to get creative with these fall staples. Plus, you may want to familiarize yourself with these common chrysanthemum mistakes.
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