Welcome Fall with a Cozy Garden Retreat
Ah, autumn…the most wonderful time of the year.
The summer swelter turns into a distant memory as temperatures drop, letting you enjoy your most cozy cardigans, well-loved jeans, and favorite mug filled with pumpkin-spice everything. But as the daylight wanes and the thermometer drops, don’t retreat inside. Autumn offers a perfect time to relax and reflect in your favorite outdoor space. And, with a little tweaking and a few seasonal accessories, your autumn garden may become your new favorite hangout. Plus, with chillier temperatures, you’ll have the perfect excuse to snuggle with your favorite person or pooch under a pretty blanket surrounded by fabulous fall foliage. As an added perk–you’ll no longer battle pesky mosquitoes as you savor the fall garden. (Hooray!)
Creating a cozy space as the seasons change is easier than you may think.
With a few simple tips, you’ll be ready to curl up and relax in your pretty fall garden space.
Step 1: Create Great Seating Spaces
During summer, we tend to place outdoor furniture in the sunniest part of the garden.
Perhaps add an umbrella for shade, but those sunny spaces are typically exposed to the elements, such as chilly autumn winds and rain.
As you create your cozy fall garden space, consider rearranging your seating area. Move outdoor furniture to areas that are protected from the elements.
Place a seating space against the house, wall, or fence to offer shelter from biting breezes and chilly winds. Consider installing a patio shelter or adding a cover to an existing pergola so you can enjoy the garden even during drizzly days. (Is there anything nicer than listening to the patter of raindrops while wrapped in a warm, soft blanket, sipping a cup of tea, and reading a good book?) The scent of the rain hitting the earth—or petrichor—as you sit in your protected garden space only adds to the autumn ambiance.
Placing the garden furniture in a protected area is ideal—but don’t forget the beauty of leaf-peeping in your own backyard.
Position your cozy seating so that you can view the vibrant fall colors in your garden. Whether you dabble in watercolors, write nature-based poetry, journal, or just savor the changing seasons, you’ll find the ever-changing garden view inspirational.
Crescent Gardens Elements outdoor furniture gives you practical, pretty pieces for your seating area, as well as flexibility for your design.
The furniture withstands the elements: rain, snow, and heat. Plus, it cleans up brilliantly when toddlers, pets, or unruly guests make messes. Perfect for year-round enjoyment, these pieces are easy to reconfigure for a cozy fall space tucked out of the elements, protected from wind and rain. The L-shaped outdoor sofa is ideal for naps or canoodling with your favorite person. For entertaining, add armchairs, lounge chairs, and ottomans where needed. Make sure to place a table close by for drinks and snacks. (After all, who wants to fetch refreshments once you’re properly ensconced in your favorite blanket?)
Bigger isn’t always better. For a cozy fall garden retreat, you might only need a comfortable lounge chair or an armchair and ottoman.
It depends on whether you plan to share your space—or treat it as your own private escape. (Shhh…we won’t tell!)
Step 2: Add Cozy Ambiance
Once you’ve positioned your furniture for optimal autumn coziness, it’s time to add your favorite fall accessories. Whether you want to go all-in by changing cushions to match the season or prefer to add a simple, warm throw for chilly days, accessorizing your fall garden space can be as elaborate or as easy as you choose. A few items to consider include:
Firepit
Nothing says autumn like roasting marshmallows on an October evening, while sharing spooky stories to get everyone in the Halloween spirit. There’s just something about a glowing firepit that makes a garden space feel both intimate and festive. The scent of the wood, the crackle of the flames, the warmth against the nip in the air—a firepit creates a cozy vibe from fall through winter.
Always use caution with firepits, particularly if your area is experiencing drought conditions. When communities issue burning bans, it applies to firepits, too.
Lighting
Daylight dwindles as autumn arrives, with darkness creeping into the garden earlier every evening. By adding pretty and practical lighting to your fall garden space, you’ll turn a dreary, dark seating area into a warm, inviting space. Whether you choose fairy lights, LED path lights, lanterns, or candles, a softly lit autumn garden creates a perfectly cozy vibe.
Solar LED Lanterns cast a warm glow in the autumn garden, ideal for enjoying the space in the evening. These lovely, nostalgia-invoking lanterns light up your outdoor living space. Hang the lanterns or place them on a tabletop. The solar-powered, flickering warm-white LEDs create a flame effect to add a gentle light to your garden space.
Make sure to turn off outdoor lights when you go indoors to protect migrating birds.
Textiles
Festive autumn throw pillows and chunky hand-knit blankets create terrific texture in the cozy fall garden—while also providing practical comfort and warmth. Whether you choose traditional fall colors in red, orange, and yellow or opt for equally stunning jewel tones, a pretty pop of color creates an inviting space. Remember, comfort is key. You want to lounge and relax in your autumn garden space, so choose your favorite colors and warm, soft fabrics that make you feel relaxed and cozy.
The Extras
If fall is your favorite season, extend your decorating to your cozy garden space. Pile pretty pumpkins in an attractive arrangement near the seating area to savor the season. Add gourds to a side table. Whatever your favorite fall interior decorating entails, extend it into your fall garden.
Step 3: Pick the Perfect Fall Plants
To truly enjoy your cozy fall garden, don’t forget the stars of the show: the plants! And while a pot of grocery store mums adds a splash of color for a bit, consider mixing up your autumn garden plants for a long-lasting, interesting show. Traditional fall colors, like shades of orange and yellow, always look lovely. But plants in rich jewel tones—amethyst, citrine, ruby, and sapphire—add depth and create a lush palette in the garden, too. Add these fall annuals and perennials to pretty patio containers, or design a gorgeous, layered bed where autumn plants can shine.
Some plants to consider include:
Jewel Tone For Fall Color
Wildflower lovers will adore Totally Stoked Riptide Aster, a new series of Stoke’s Aster.
Moderately sized with dense habits, these pretty plants with good basal branching produce numerous flowers from early to late summer, completely covering the plant. Originating from North Carolina State University’s hybridizing program, these asters thrive in the heat and humidity of southern summers—and autumns, which can still produce steamy temperatures in the south. The two- to three-inch periwinkle-blue flowers beckon pollinators. Deadhead the spent flowers to encourage reblooms throughout the fall. USDA Zones 5-9.
Is there a more perfect plant for fall gardens than adorable pansies?
Breeders have made our favorite flowers even better with the Majestic Giants II pansy. With extra-large flowers, this cultivar maintains its huge, four-inch flowers under warm conditions, then overwinters and reblooms beautifully in the spring for a lovely show. Superior lateral branching of Majestic Giants II fills pots and landscapes quickly, while bud and bloom are present at first flush, keeping your garden and containers filled with color throughout the fall and spring. Annual.
Butterflies flock to gorgeous, long-blooming ‘Euphoria™ Ruby’ Joe Pye Weed.
Full-size, deep mauve flowers on long, upright stems bloom earlier than most Joe Pye Weeds and continue into the fall, offering a reliable food source for hungry pollinators. Coarsely serrated, dark-green leaves grow to 12 inches long beneath clumps of vanilla-scented flower clusters. Compact and hardy, this native cultivar maxes out under 3 feet tall, making it ideal for small spaces or the front of a garden bed. USDA Zones 4-9.
For a perfect, versatile perennial, add Giant Ironweed to your autumn garden.
Growing in dry to moist soils from prairies to roadsides and woodlands, this native perennial provides food for birds and a nesting environment for woodcocks. Plus, its prolific purple blooms attract a variety of pollinators. This vibrant perennial grows to be nine feet tall, perfect for planting in the back of the bed, and blooms from July to September, multiplying steadily each year. USDA Zones 5-8.
Drought-tolerant Purple Fountain Grass forms a tidy, dense clump of purplish-maroon blades topped with rose-red plumes.
Growing in dry to moist soils from prairies to roadsides and woodlands, this native perennial provides food for birds and a nesting environment for woodcocks. Plus, its prolific purple blooms attract a variety of pollinators. This vibrant perennial grows to be nine feet tall, perfect for planting in the back of the bed, and blooms from July to September, multiplying steadily each year. USDA Zones 5-8.
For the prettiest containers and front of landscape borders, add AAS Winner Glamour Red to your garden.
The waxless quality of the leaves makes them shiny with a more intense, vivid color. Excellent for fall and early winter color in the garden. Annual.
Traditional Fall Colors
Chrysanthemum Mammoth™ Yellow Quill produces bright yellow blooms with spoon-shaped petals.
Bred in Minnesota to be extra-hardy, this true perennial mum comes back year after year. These mums require no pinching, pruning or deadheading, and they survive temperatures as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit. By their second or third year, the mum can reach four feet wide with hundreds of blooms per plant, creating a fabulous floral focal point in landscapes. USDA Zones 3-9.
For a wildlife-friendly fall garden, you’ll love Black-Eyed Susan Goldblitz.
This hardy perennial begins blooming in late summer and continues throughout fall, adding great color and interest just as many other flowers fade. Plus, it’s an excellent food source for bees, migrating birds, and butterflies. The golden-yellow flowers are a bit smaller than those of some other Rudbeckia cultivars, but the sheer number of blooms makes up for it. Available from your local garden retailer. USDA Zones 3-9.
DoubleShot™ Snapdragon Orange Bicolor is part of a new series of intermediate-height snapdragons, perfect for the landscape or used as cut flowers.
This AAS Winner has stunning, open-faced, double flowers that emerge in beautiful warm shades of orange and orange-red transitioning to a dusty shade as they age. These plants produce romantic flowers all season long (even in lower light conditions), plus the sturdy stems don’t break in strong winds. You’ll love this update of a classic fall flower. Annual.
For exceptional heat tolerance and stunning color, Celosia Flamma Orange adds incredible impact in the autumn garden.
Vibrant, colorful plumes don’t fade with the seasonal change, adding bright splashes of color in landscapes and containers. Compact habit with many branches makes it perfect for patio pots. A 2022 AAS Winner. Annual.
With its compact size and profusion of large, yellow flowers, Artisan™ Yellow Ombre F1 Coneflower makes a big show in the landscape.
Blooming in early summer, this AAS Winner, with an intense golden yellow bloom along with graduated colors of yellow, is a gem in the garden. A pollinator magnet in summer and fall, this adaptable and disease-resistant cultivar also provides great winter interest. The spiky seedheads stand upright in the landscape, providing texture and a food source for birds, such as goldfinches. Planted in full sun, Artisan™ Yellow Ombre is great in the landscape or decorative containers. USDA Zones 4a-10b.
Crown of Rays Goldenrod produces lovely late-season color in the perennial border.
It’s equally at home in landscaped gardens or in a mini-meadow setting with grasses and wildflowers. Plant this nativar in cottage gardens or mixed beds and enjoy its vivid color. It looks gorgeous adorning fence lines or foundations. Try tucking it in bright sunny spots in gaps of woodland paths for a pop of color among the forest. USDA Zones 4-8.
Don’t rush to tidy your autumn garden. Many seedheads, like Rudbeckia and Echinacea, feed songbirds, while native bees nest in hollow plant stems.
Instead of spending the weekends pruning and tidying the garden, cozy up with a good book and your favorite beverage and admire nature as it changes through the seasons.
A Taste of Autumn Cocktail: Apple Cider Sangria
If you celebrate fall with a trip to the apple orchard, this is the perfect cocktail to enjoy in your garden when you arrive home.
Make a pitcher filled with fruit, apple cider, and Grand Marnier—and let the flavors meld for about an hour in the refrigerator. Pour into individual glasses, then top with a healthy splash of prosecco in each glass when serving.
Apple Cider Sangria
Ingredients:
- 2 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
- 1 orange, sliced thin (remove seeds)
- 1 cup pomegranate seeds (or cranberries, if you prefer)
- ½ cup Grand Marnier (or other orange liqueur)
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 750 ml bottle of prosecco (or your favorite sparkling wine)
Directions:
- Add fruit to a large pitcher.
- Add Grand Marnier and apple cider to the pitcher. Stir until well-combined with the fruit, then chill for an hour to allow the flavors to blend.
- Pour mixture into glasses, then top with prosecco before serving. Add a slice of orange as a garnish, if you like.
Are you ready to create a cozy, colorful autumn garden to relish as summer fades into a distant memory?
Whether you choose traditional autumn colors like orange and yellow or opt for jewel tones like amethyst, sapphire, or ruby, you’ll love cuddling up in the crisp fall air in your cozy fall garden.
Do you know that National Garden Bureau members include the most innovative breeders and distributors of plants and products ideal for fall gardens?
If you want to create rich plantings that look lovely throughout chilly fall days or design intimate spaces for enjoying your cool weather garden–check out the plants and products available from National Garden Bureau members.
About National Garden Bureau
Founded more than 100 years ago, the National Garden Bureau educates, inspires, and motivates people to grow home gardens. National Garden Bureau members are horticultural experts, and the information shared with you comes directly from these experts to ensure your gardening success. We Grow Gardeners!
This post is an educational and inspirational service provided by the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to the National Garden Bureau when using all or part of this article.
