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Fall Annuals
Tips for Designing With Fall Annuals
Mix Colors & Textures: Combine mums and asters with the bold foliage of kale or millet for layered interest.
Use Containers: Porch pots, window boxes, and hanging baskets are perfect for showcasing fall annuals.
Pair with Pumpkins & Décor: Tuck plants around pumpkins, gourds, and straw bales for instant seasonal displays.
Plant in Groups: Bold drifts of color are more eye-catching than scattered single plants.
Why Plant Fall Annuals?
Fall annuals keep your garden cheerful and colorful long after summer has ended. They’re also resilient in cooler weather, easy to plant, and versatile for both garden beds and container displays.
Fall Annuals: Color and Texture for the Autumn Garden
When summer blooms fade, your garden doesn’t have to lose its vibrancy. Fall annuals bring fresh color, texture, and seasonal charm right when your outdoor spaces need a pick-me-up. From bold mums to striking ornamental peppers, these cool-weather favorites thrive in Southern Maryland’s autumn climate and keep your garden looking lively well into the season.
Garden Favorites for Fall
🌼 Chrysanthemums (Mums)
Mums are the stars of fall. With their wide range of colors—gold, bronze, burgundy, purple, and white—they provide instant impact on porches, patios, and garden beds. Choose early-, mid-, and late-blooming varieties to extend your display.
🌸 Asters
Asters add a burst of daisy-like blooms in shades of purple, pink, and blue. They’re excellent for pollinator gardens since bees and butterflies are still active in the cooler months.
🌺 Pansies
Cool-weather champs, pansies bloom in cheerful shades that brighten fall and can even overwinter in mild conditions. Their “faces” bring a playful, welcoming touch to containers and borders.
🥬 Ornamental Cabbage & Kale
With their bold rosettes of purple, pink, and white foliage, ornamental cabbage and kale add unique texture and thrive as temperatures drop. They actually develop richer colors after a light frost!
🌶️ Ornamental Peppers
Compact plants with vibrant peppers in shades of red, orange, yellow, and purple. These peppers are primarily decorative, adding fiery pops of color to containers and garden edges.
🌾 Ornamental Grasses
Grasses provide graceful movement and height in the fall garden. Their plumes and seed heads catch the autumn light beautifully, making them perfect companions to flowering annuals.
🌱 Millet
Ornamental millet is prized for its bold purple foliage and dramatic, cattail-like seed heads. It adds striking vertical interest and pairs well with mums and kale in mixed planters.
Rex Begonia
Why Rex Begonias Belong in Your Collection
These plants are living art pieces, bringing personality and drama wherever they’re placed. While they require a bit more attention than a hardy houseplant, their show-stopping foliage makes the effort worthwhile. Perfect for indoor plant lovers or gardeners designing shady porch containers, Rex Begonias never go unnoticed.
Rex Begonias: Bold Foliage for Indoors and Shady Spaces
When it comes to dramatic foliage, few plants can compete with the Rex Begonia. Known for their striking leaves in shades of silver, purple, pink, green, and even near-black, Rex Begonias are grown more for their ornamental foliage than their flowers. They’re the perfect choice for anyone looking to add a touch of artistry and texture to indoor collections or shaded outdoor containers.
What Makes Rex Begonias Special?
Eye-Catching Foliage: Their leaves can be swirled, spotted, or patterned, almost like living works of art.
Compact Growth: Most varieties stay small and bushy, making them ideal for tabletops, shelves, or mixed planters.
Variety of Colors: From metallic silvers to deep burgundy tones, Rex Begonias offer endless foliage variety to match any décor.
Growing Conditions & Care Tips
Light: Bright, indirect light indoors or dappled shade outdoors is best. Direct sun can scorch their delicate leaves.
Soil: They prefer well-draining, peat-rich soil that stays lightly moist but never soggy.
Watering: Water when the top inch of soil feels dry. Avoid overhead watering to prevent leaf spots—water at the soil line instead.
Humidity: Rex Begonias love humidity. They thrive in bathrooms, on pebble trays, or grouped with other plants.
Fertilizer: Feed monthly during the growing season with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer at half strength.
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