Our summer pots may be fading fast, but it doesn’t mean our porch or patio has to; adding a few cool-season container plants is an easy way to inject some much-needed color, texture, and life to your outdoor space through fall and even into winter.
Yes, cool-season container gardening is our favorite and most accessible form of fall gardening, as you don’t need acres of land or even a traditional garden to wax a little natural magic; a balcony, terrace, stoop, or sunny windowsill can do the trick just as nicely, depending on where you sit in the USDA Planting Zone Map.
Just a clever mix of flowering perennials and hardy annuals should be enough to keep your own personal patch of paradise looking gorgeous and vibrant, even in chilly conditions. So, whether you’re looking for bold flowers or foliage that won’t quit, here’s a list of our tried-and-true favorites...
1. Chrysanthemums
The ultimate cool-season container plant! With colors ranging from deep burgundy to cheerful yellow, mums are the most obvious go-to for instant seasonal flair. They prefer full sun and regular watering, and while they’re often treated as annuals, hardy varieties can return in USDA Zones 5-9.
Something like Amazon’s Vibrant Fall Mix of Live Chrysanthemum Plants should do the trick nicely!
2. Pansies and Violas
Pansies and violas are both cheerful little flowers that positively thrive in cooler weather, often blooming right through a mild winter in USDA Zones 6-10. Mix up their jewel tones for a cool-season container that feels like a living tapestry, but don’t forget to pop them in a spot where they’ll get full to partial sun.
To make life easier (and delivery all the speedier), you can get Live Healthy Flowering Pansies from Amazon in a beautiful selection of fall colors.
3. Coral Bells
Known for their ruffled foliage in shades of caramel, burgundy, lime, or silver, coral bells (Heuchera) add depth and year-round color. They’re evergreen in many regions, and are hardy up to USDA Zone 3. Better still, they thrive in partial shade, making them perfect companions for flowering plants.
Try something like the pre-grown Caramel Coral Bells from Nature Hills for a truly splendiferous display.
4. Ornamental Kale and Cabbage
When frost deepens, these cool-season container plants get more colorful. Whether you choose an ornamental kale or cabbage, expect bold rosettes in pink, purple, and cream to offer sculptural drama that lasts well into winter.
If you’re based in USDA Zones 2–11, then, treat yourself to a trio of Expert Gardener 2QT Purple Kale Live Annual Plants from Walmart and get planting.
5. Wintergreen
A charming groundcover with glossy green leaves and bright red berries that persist into winter, wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) loves acidic soil and part shade, and it adds a festive note to anyone’s collection of cool-season container plants.
Bag yourself a Winter Fiesta™ Wintergreen Plant from Walmart, then, and watch it do its merry thing in Zones 4-8.
6. Lenten Rose
One of the earliest perennials to bloom, lenten roses (hellebores) often pop up in late winter when little else dares. Their nodding flowers come in cream, pink, plum, and nearly black, and are the perfect cool-season container plants for shady porches in Zones 4-9.
If you move quickly, you can buy 3 Containers of Mixed Lenten Roses from Amazon ready for fall planting.
7. Stonecrop
Succulent leaves and starry flower heads make stonecrop (Sedum spp.) a textural standout. In fall, many varieties blush bronze or red, and the seed heads persist into winter for structure. These are the sort of cool-season container plants that need full sun, sure, but they make up for it by being drought-tolerant.
Try something like Amazon’s Perennial Farm Marketplace Sedum x 'Autumn Joy' (Stonecrop) if you’re in USDA Zones 3–9.
The trick to a good fall container garden is to mix flowering plants like mums and pansies with foliage stars like heuchera and kale for a display that looks intentional and layered. A splash of berries from wintergreen or the bold silhouette of sedum adds a designer finish, too.
Have fun, then, and mix it up. Just be sure to revel in the knowledge that your cool-season container plants will fill your life with warmth and color, even when the temperatures dip...
