How to Update Your Front Porch Planters for Fall

It’s that time of year to update your front porch planters for fall.  Seeing these gorgeous plants and the pumpkin gourds will surely inspire you to brighten your front door and porch.  Everybody does mums.  Isn’t it nice to see an interesting alternative?

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Pumpkins and flowers at the Garden Center at Morris Lawn and Landscape

Kale, fountain grass, and petunias in a plaid tin bucket.

A trip across the river to Rising Sun, Indiana’s Morris Garden Center inspired our porch pots this year.  I love this place because they always have some unusual plants.   They have mini mums this year.

Petunias and Celosia

Mums and Pumpkins at Morris Garden Center

Their display of pumpkins and annual flowers is so pretty.  I love the combination of the pumpkins and the colorful flowers.

Indian corn, kale, and cabbages at Morris Garden Center.

Tiny pumpkins, Coral bells, and Mini Mums.

That was the inspiration for our porch pots this fall.  They had a huge crate of gourds where the two orange gourds rested.

Morris Garden Center in Rising Sun, Indiana

Fall gourds, pumpkins, and corn displayat Morris Garden Center in Rising Sun.

Look at the gourd tower on the porch at the garden center!  I love the little pumpkins in the blue and white tin basket.

Clearing the Porch Planters

Remember this spring and my cheat with the porch pots?  Well, that makes removing the spring flowers easy.  I lifted the spring pots out of the planters. 

The concrete pots flanking the walk to the backyard were a little lackluster.  This has been a hot and dry summer, and the southwest side of the house was particularly affected.  Instead of adding the spring flowers to the compost pile, I set them in the two concrete pots.

Yes, I set them right on top of the lackluster petunias in the pots.  It’s late in the season.  Don’t tell anyone!  I’ll deal with them after the first freeze.

Plants and Pumpkin Gourds

At the garden center, Danielle and Lisa helped me pick out a couple of pumpkins, petunias, celosia, fountain grass, and sweet potato vines.  The  Intenz Lipstick Celosia caught my eye.  I love the bright raspberry color.  This particular Celosia has intense color all season and it thrives in heat and sun.  It grows 18 inches tall and is perfect for behind the pumpkins.

We also decided the purple fountain grass would make a nice background plant.  This grass grows 30-36 inches tall.

Have you seen black petunias?  These are gorgeous!  Aren’t they perfect for fall?  This variety is SlingShot Black Magic.  These grow 10 – 16 inches tall.

Marguerite Dwarf Sweet Potato Vine grows 12 inches high and trails 12 inches.  It’s a nice contrast to the pumpkin and the other flowers.

Planting the Annuals in the Front Porch Pots

After removing the pot of spring annuals, I added composted soil to the pot.  Then, place four 4-inch plastic pots in the soil with the tops at the same level as the large pot.  Next, just fill in around the outside of the pots with more soil.  Place the pumpkin in the center.

You may remember the post on how to plant flowers easily.  This is how I plant all my containers ensuring that the plants won’t wilt. 

Remove an empty pot from the soil.  Now, submerge one of the pots with the flowers in a bucket of water.  Make sure the top of the pot is underwater.  When air bubbles quit rising to the water surface and the soil is soaked, remove the plant from the water, turn the pot over in your hand, and remove the plant with the soil from the pot.

Remove the pot and set the plant in the hole.

Purple Fountain Grass

Set the plant and soil in the hole left by the removed pot.  Lightly, firm up the soil around the plant.  Repeat for each of the plants.

Black Magic Sling Shot Petunia

Marguerite Dwarf Sweet Potato Vine