It’s nearing the end of October and the end of the growing season in Minnesota and parts north. But there are plants that like cooler temps and they’re all part of today’s START To Downsize article -
Downsizing Tips & Design Trends -
Outdoor Autumnal Accents
A staple START To Downsize tip is to “use what you have”. That will free up your budget to purchase only what you need.
The design trends featured in today’s post are “nature’s essentials” and “retro/vintage”. “Nature’s essentials” include unfinished or weathered wood pieces and “retro/vintage” includes old, repurposed, recycled or reused items.
All the pictures you’ll see are from Bachman’s Fall 2011 Ideas House. Bachman’s is a well-known Minneapolis/St. Paul area garden store, with a VERY talented staff and LOTS of ideas!
This is a close-up of the cool weather plants featured in the window box. Decorative kale, mums, pansies and grasses, all intertwined with grapevine, make the oversized window box a focal point for the front of the house.
Carry the plant theme through to containers – switch up varieties for a related, but individual look. Include organic elements, such as twigs and birch branches to add height to your containers.
Use weathered lawn furniture as ornamentation in your landscape. The simple lines of this chair and footstool would be transformed into a graceful sculpture later in the season, covered with snow.
Use this life-like scarecrow with wide open arms as a greeter at your fall parties or to welcome the trick-or-treaters on Halloween! He’s “planted” in a rag-wrapped washtub filled with different varieties of decorative kale. About the only things you’d have to buy for this giant decoration are the kale and some straw for stuffing – just use what you already have to put together your perfect scarecrow!
I LOVE these planters! The bases are vintage Singer sewing machines, which have been topped with planter boxes. By taking advantage of the entire side of the garage, there’s ample space for multiple planters. Balance and color are added to the vignette when pumpkins are used to anchor each planter.
Old columns are topped with a framework wrapped in more grapevine to make a kind of pergola. Raised beds, which grew vegetables in the summer, are now brimming with more autumn-inspired plants.
A close-up of a bed reveals iron “corn stalks”, filled with Indian corn. Delightful.
They provide the visual height needed to bring the viewer’s eye up to…
…this wall-mounted metal planter, hung on the end wall of the garage. Located just above the raised beds, it takes advantage of the perfect opportunity to bring some much-needed color on to the beige garage wall.
When adding outdoor decor, such as this planter, be aware of scale and err on the side of too large, rather than too small. This planter encompasses about a 5′ X 5′ space, perfect for this 16′ long garage wall.
Don’t miss this eye-catching vignette on the back wall of a small shed across the yard from the garage. A rustic display has been arranged to provide balance to the yard and to bring in another splash of seasonal color, applied with a touch of whimsy:
A super-sized broom has been made and mounted to the shed wall. Beneath the broom is a repurposed chicken coop, filled with gourds, kale and mums, all nestled on a straw bed. More straw is strewn in front of the coop, and bales of straw provide perches for large mums tucked into bushel baskets.
Take a moment to notice how the display takes up the entire shed wall, which acts like a canvas for the artful vignette.
Doesn’t today’s START To Downsize post, “Downsizing Tips & Design Trends – Outdoor Autumnal Accents” put you in a colorful frame of mind? Even if your space is small, borrow from one of these inspirations to create your own work of autumnal art.
Email me pictures of your one-of-a-kind fall interpretations! I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Kate
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