Fall just isn’t fall without a stack of mums and pumpkins! All those rich autumn hues make any home feel warm and welcoming.
Once we finished spreading some fall magic inside the house, we moved things outside. This year, we focused on creating a primary display for our front steps, with accents on our side porch, garden shed entry, and in planters scattered throughout the property (15 in all!).
In keeping with our more restrained, classic style, we chose mums and pumpkins as our primary display elements. To those, we added pansies and ornamental kales for texture and visual interest. For the color palette, we opted for shades of deep red and bright yellow.
These elements were repeated throughout the property for a cohesive look.
Front Steps
On each side of the front steps, we used mums, along with a collection of standard jack-o-lantern, heirloom, and pie pumpkins. Some of my favorite heirlooms are the Cinderella, Jarrahdale, and white varieties, which are wonderful paired with many fall annuals.
Cinderella pumpkins are flatter and a deep red-orange (great for stacking).
They contrast beautifully with the green-blue color of the Jarrahdale and with white pumpkins, like the Lumina variety.
Using smaller pumpkins, like pie pumpkins and miniatures, are perfect for filling in gaps and creating a bountiful arrangement.
The grouping seems to lead you right up the stairs to the front door (that no one ever uses – everyone uses the side door!). We’ll be adding a few lanterns to light things up at night for an extra cozy, autumn feel.
Kitchen Porch
On the kitchen porch, we filled planters with mums, pansies, and ornamental kale. Next to each planter grouping, we placed a single pumpkin, like this Cinderella.
Keeping the arrangement simple allows the front steps to be the star of the show. Everything else complements, but doesn’t compete with that area.
Accent Planters
Across the driveway, gray planters hold pansies, mums, and kale. The deep burgundy centers of the pansies echo the deep red of the yet-to-open mums.
Garden Shed
Just beyond the gray pots, the garden shed porch received fall treatment with more mums and pumpkins. Two concrete-looking urns (they’re a composite material) look stately and created some height, even if they are just decorating a shed!
I love how you can look through the porch to the house beyond.
Barn Planters
Around the corner from the shed, more planters, including two whiskey barrel halves, add a dash of fall color to the west side of the barn (aka hubby’s workshop).
The planters flank both sides of a small covered porch. As you can see in the photo, the yellow mums are in full bloom, with the red ones just starting to open.
Herb Garden
We also planted a single yellow mum in a planter that sits in the middle of an herb garden outside of our kitchen. The rust-colored hobnail planter is one of my favorites (a score from Home Goods).
Garage Urns
Finally, we added two more yellow mums to urns in front of the garage. Since the garage is painted a barn red, the yellow just pops!
Tips
To ensure our mums stay nice and moist, I water them daily, especially those that I haven’t transplanted (I leave some in their nursery pots and just sit them in a more decorative planter). We get a fair amount of wind at our place, so the mums dry out quickly.
If you see the leaves of your mums drooping, it means they need water. But if you can avoid getting to that point, all the better.
Also, to get the most life out of your pumpkins, try to keep them in a shady spot. Too much sun can cause them to begin rotting. The same goes for freezing weather. If you expect a freeze in your area, bring your pumpkins inside till things warm up. If that’s not feasible, cover them up till the frost passes.
For more fall garden ideas, check out our post on the best fall annuals to plant today!