Ah, the fall! Crisp blue-sky days filled with puffs of white clouds, cool starry nights, warm blankets, open fire pits, warm cider, hay rides, fall festivals, and Halloween. What’s not to like?? Fall arrives with shorter days filled with sounds of chirping crickets and cozy nights. What better way to welcome Autumn than with great decorations?
Nature is in its full glory. Let’s live in harmony with nature by creating beautiful centerpieces and celebrate its last hurrah before the onset of winter. Here are some fall outdoor decorating ideas to really get you in the spirit. Follow the guide below using natural and store bought products to create your own fall extravaganza.
(Some of the links within this post are affiliate links on which I receive a small compensation from the sale of certain items and no extra cost to you.)
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Create an Inviting Front Door
Front Door Wreath
It’s time to create that warm fuzzy feeling at your doorstep. Welcome family and friends to your home by hanging an autumnal wreath on your front door. The wreath can be constructed from natural elements found in fields or forests, or purchase artificial flowers, leaves and grasses from your favorite craft store for a pop of color.
1. Start with a grapevine wreath and, using florist wire and a hot glue gun, attach your treasures to the circle.
2. Choose a large enough wreath so that it extends almost to the width of the door, leaving 3 to 4 inches on either side.
3. Hot glue a welcoming sign on the wreath if desired.
4. Wrap a ribbon that complements the wreath’s color around the top, and attach it to the door with a command hook.
As an alternative to flowers, leaves, and plumes from grasses, how about a wreath made of cotton?
Base of the Door Decor
Next, add real or artificial pumpkins on your porch. You can stack them from smallest to largest and also add different varieties of pumpkins to the mix. It adds more interest if you choose other colors besides orange.
For a little ambience, use a lantern with battery or solar powered lights to create a warm glow. (Sold on Amazon.)
Purchase some chrysanthemums, asters or other autumnal flowers and repot them. Place them in groupings of odd numbers as a beautiful centerpiece.
Buy a bale of hay, place it by the side of your door, and arrange mums around it or on top of it. Add some pumpkins and gourds to the mix. Remember to use an odd amount of items to the centerpiece.
Don’t forget to add a welcome mat!
Pillars by the Door
If you door is bordered by pillars, wrap them with leaf garland, either store bought or that you’ve created yourself. You can also add the garland around the left, right and top of a window to create a focal point.
Wrap pillars with grapevine garland or create your own grapevine garland using twigs, florist wire, rope and a hot glue gun.
After creating the grapevine garland, attach decorations such as small gourds or pumpkins with a hot glue gun.
Go to your local farm stand and buy some corn stalks. Attach them to the pillars with twine. Don’t forget to open the remaining ears of corn on the stalks. This adds color to the stalks and also feeds the birds!
Window Boxes and Hanging Baskets
If you have window boxes and/or hanging baskets, they are probably starting to look a little ragged.
1. Start by pulling out the straggly summer annuals. You do not need to pull them all out if some are still blooming and look full.
2. Next, separate and stir up the soil with a trowel.
3. Add a little fertilizer to the soil to revitalize it.
4. Purchase some winter pansies or ornamental peppers. Refer to Fall Flower Gardens for more ideas.
5. Fill in the empty areas of your window box with the new autumnal flowers. For tips on garden window boxes, click Garden Window Boxes.
6. Remember to color coordinate your choice of flowers with the existing ones in the window box.
An Alternative to Flowers
Rather than replace your window boxes and/or hanging baskets with flowers or plants, try this. Empty the entire content of the containers if they are the metal see-through type. Then add either artificial pumpkins and gourds or real pumpkins and gourds to it.
If the window boxes and baskets are solid, keep the soil in the container and place the items on top of the soil.
Refer to my post, Unique Garden Ideas, to learn how to transform dried out gourds into birdhouses for the spring.
Patios, Porches, and Decks – Fall Decorating Ideas
Almost everyone loves to be outside. Studies have shown it reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, improves your sleep, boosts immunity and your absorption of vitamin D, and fosters creativity, among many other things. There’s no easier way to get more healthy than by simply spending time outside.
After a few years of a global pandemic, we all need a little more socialization. So why not step outside and make your porch, patio and deck a welcome extension of your home by adding fall decor?
There are so many ways to improve the outside area of your home. Read the suggestions below, and implement them in your own cozy oasis.
1. Add comfy furniture to your outdoor seating area such as a rocking chair, swing, or settee. Don’t forget side tables to set down the hot cider. (Available on Amazon)
2. Cover those pieces with soft plaid afghans or blankets. Remember to use the hues of autumn such as warm yellows, oranges, reds, burgundies and purples.
3. Throw some extra large and overstuffed pillows onto the floor for an extra guest.
4. Purchase an outdoor patio heater to stay cozy and warm while enjoying your beautiful outdoor space. (Sold on Amazon)
5. String some soft light LED lights from tree to tree or post to post. Wherever you find a place! (Sold on Amazon)
6. Cluster some chrysanthemums or other fall blooms on steps or walkway leading up to the porch. For more information on chrysanthemums, refer to How to Grow Chrysanthemums.
7. Scatter pumpkins and gourds on the floor of your outdoor space. Gather them in groups of 3, 5, or 7.
8. Add containers of autumn flowers to your patio.
9. Create a warm, romantic ambience by placing lanterns filled with candles scattered around the porch, patio or deck.
10. Add a vintage wood ladder on your porch. Weather permitting, you can drape blankets on it for use on cool days and night. Or place small pumpkins or other seasonal decorations on the steps of the ladder. (Shop on Amazon)
11.Stuff small metal buckets with outdoor foliage such as maple leaves, bittersweet branches, and plumes of tall grasses.
12.Purchase a trough planter to hold all those extra large magnificent mums and place it on the outer edge of your patio. Add pumpkins and gourds in front to anchor the centerpiece.
13.Stash some pumpkins and gourds on an outdoor bar cart.(Found on amazon)
14.Use vintage stoneware crocks (Found on Amazon) as pots for your autumn plants and place in sets of three throughout the area.
15.Using wooden crates, create a fall “picture” using garland, mums, autumnal flowers planted in terra cotta pots, and gourds.
15.Spray paint pumpkins in white or metallic gold. This is a modern twist on the traditional orange pumpkin. Cluster them in a corner with other fall decorations.
16.Construct a fire pit in your backyard using pavers, stone and sand. Or you can purchase a gas powered pit, or a copper fire pit ready for your own wood from the forest. (Available on Amazon)
17.Stack pumpkins on top of one another and place them on the post of a fence, or add your house numbers to them and put them by your front door.
Out in the Garden
Lastly, you’ll want to decorate your garden. You can use many of the suggestions listed above in addition to those below.
1. Create your own scarecrow by stuffing an old flannel shirt and some scruffy jeans with either fallen leaves or hay. Tie the waist of the pants and shirt with rope. Tie the end of the sleeves with rope allowing some hay to stick out. Place the two parts on a step or chair. Draw a cool face on a pumpkin or a round ball and place it on top of the scarecrow. Top it off with an old hat and a handkerchief around the neck. Think the Wizard of Oz!!
2. Purchase ready made scarecrows with large stakes and place them sporadically in the garden.
3. Add homemade ghosts to trees by hanging them with string.
4 Make a fairy tree lamp using a branch from your backyard, jute rope, glue, a bucket, small stones, and masking tape.
BIG TIP ABOUT PUMPKINS AND GOURDS!!
Squirrels love to munch on pumpkins and gourds. To deter them from feasting on them, try generously rubbing them with Vaseline, (petroleum jelly)!!
Fall Outdoor Decorating Ideas
As you have read, there are many delightful ways to be in harmony with nature in autumn. By trying my fall outdoor decorating ideas, you will create an inviting, warm, cozy autumn retreat right outside your own front or back door! Remember, “the next time I go looking for my heart’s desire, I won’t look any further than my own backyard!” (Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz).
Please leave a comment and some pictures. I’d love to see them. Share this post with someone you think would enjoy it.
Happy Gardening!
Nina
bestgardeningforbeginners@gmail.com
www.bestgardeningforbeginners.com