Don't throw in the trowel—there's still time to garden!

Here in my part of the world, the growing season is practically year-long...one of the great things about living in East Texas. No matter where you are, I think you'll find several new ideas to perk up your window boxes or container gardens for the Fall.

As usual COTTAGE LIVING MAGAZINE is an excellent source of ideas...many thanks.

Have a good one!

Fall Window Box, 3 Ways

Don't throw in the trowel—there's still time to garden.
These fiery fall container combos will last all season.
By Kate Karam

photography: Robbie Caponetto
A: Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum); B: variegated Japanese sedge (Carex morrowii 'Variegata'); C: florist mums; D: small white pumpkins 'Baby boo'; E: ornamental peppers

1. Playful

Tricked out for the season in combustible colors and a late-autumn harvest, this exuberant window box celebrates all that we love about fall—like the vivid colors and leafy textures. While it may require some boldness and a passion for abundance to pull off a planting like this, it was actually very easy—we found all the plants and supplies at our local home-improvement store's garden center. (By the way, this was the one that really got the neighbors talking.)

Tip: Mums rarely come tagged from a nursery or garden center with specific variety names; they usually are just listed as "florist mums." If you want to know which mum's which, check out kingsmums.com or yoder.com for color photos of dozens of named varieties.

photography: Robbie Caponetto
A: Ornamental cabbage 'Dynasty'; B: ivy (Hedera helix 'Glacier'); C: ornamental kale 'Kamone'; D: ornamental kale 'Peacock'; E: cascading mums

2. Elegant

We love the luxe, posh look of this box with its classic pairing of mums and ornamental cabbages. What keeps it from veering into cliché territory are the unusual cascading mums. To get the look, pack a window box with deep smoky purple ornamental cabbages and sparkling white ornamental kales, then intersperse them with rich magenta pompom chrysanthemums trained into a graceful cascade. Ice-tipped trailing ivy adds shimmer in the late afternoon light.

Tip: Cascading mums are no different than the mounded pots of mums you’re seeing at garden centers right now. The plants are simply trained to one stem when young then wired downward to achieve this particular effect.

photography: Robbie Caponetto
A: Black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus); B: small white pumpkins 'Snowball'; C: large white pumpkins 'Lumina'; D: bittersweet (cut branches)

3. Modern

Gleaming white 'Lumina' (large) and 'Snowball' (small) pumpkins spiked with shiny tufts of black-as-night mondo grass makes a simple combination that's all-hallows spooky but oh-so chic. In and around, we tucked fat clusters of blood-orange berries, which drip from branches of bittersweet vine (sold in bunches at florists). You can up the spook factor by hiding strands of mini lights between pumpkins.

Tip: Ivy can be potted up (before a killing frost in coldest regions, anytime in more temperate zones) and brought indoors for the winter.