Did you know that autumn is the ideal time to work on your garden? This is because the soil is easier to work with because it is warmer and isn’t constantly being inundated by spring rains! Plus, the front yard landscape designs are so beautiful.
The air temperature is generally a little more agreeable for being outside, and the weather is usually a little more predictable. Plants are typically less expensive in garden centers because they are not covered in pretty flowers.
But if you live somewhere with particularly harsh winters, you should pick hardier plant varieties, like Oriental poppies and peonies, and take extra care of them. Extreme winter climates may be too harsh for some plants to survive.
Are you looking for the perfect autumn landscape design for your residential property? Here, we’re sharing some of our favorite tips on front yard landscape designs so that you can welcome autumn in the best way!
Create Compost
You might want to reconsider your approach if you’re simply throwing away all of the dead leaves that amass in your yard during the fall.
Dead autumn leaves provide mulch for your landscape. Therefore, they don’t need to be raked. You should leave them be as they work to improve soil quality by forming a layer of compost.
Consider getting a mulching leaf vacuum/blower if you don’t like the way the leaves appear in your garden beds.
Add Fall Container Plants
Potted plants are a lovely addition to any outdoor space and can be brought inside if it gets too cold for them to stay outside.
Pair robust, hardy succulents like echeveria with pansies and violas in containers for the fall. After that, the succulents can be potted and brought indoors for a gorgeous display to enjoy all winter.
Plant Autumn Vegetables
Would you prefer a fall garden with a little more flair? Instead of buying traditional mums, consider planting autumn vegetables and greens. Kale, rainbow chard, and cabbages combined with ornamental grasses will produce a colorful display for special garden areas.
They also add texture to the scene and offer tasty vegetables while bringing beauty and creativity to your front yard landscape designs. Once the vegetables are ready for harvest, you can enjoy a home-grown fall dinner at home!
Add Trees and Shrubbery
Did you know that evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs can both be planted in the fall? They make for gorgeous landscape scenery!
Japanese maple trees, crabapples, and cherry trees are excellent choices for your front yard landscape designs. Boxwood is something else that will fare well in cold weather conditions if you’re looking for broadleaf evergreen foliage.
You can grow evergreens in containers, including birds nest spruce and hinoki cypress. Just keep in mind that during the winter, these containers will require water and careful attention—especially if there isn’t any snow.
Early fall planting of shrubs gives the plants a head start on establishing roots in the season’s cool, moist soil in many parts of the country.
Dig a hole that is twice as wide as the root ball and 2 inches deeper than the root ball’s full height. Place the shrub in the hole, making sure that the top of the root ball is at ground level and not below.
Fill the hole with soil, water it to settle it, and add more soil to the top of the root ball. Don’t pack the soil down with your foot. Then, mulch it, and you’re done!
Consider Landscape Borders
Your landscape borders—the narrow strip of land between your grass and garden—are brimming with photographic opportunities. All you need are the right plants to make the most of the area in your front yard landscape designs.
Consider seasonal interest outside of the changing leaves. Utilizing unusual plants, like Callicarpa (beautyberry), gives the landscape an unexpected pop of vivid purple and adds something special to perennial borders including the front yard landscape designs.
Many people deadhead their plants too soon after the flowers have faded, but flowers from plants like Rudbeckia and alliums can still add texture and interest to your borders well into the fall.
Plant Fall Fruit
Fruit can add a lot of visual interest to your fall landscape. Some trees and shrubs produce fruits and berries that can enhance your garden’s autumnal display.
Beautifully colored fruit from shrubs like bayberries, scarlet firethorns, sumacs, roses, elderberries, chokeberries, and winterberries adds additional visual interest to any type of garden. They will be a great addition to any front yard landscape designs!
Trim Perennials
In the fall, you can begin to prep your spring foliage for the following year.
Cut out the drained annuals as well as the fall-breeding snails and slugs that feed on them. Trim-dying perennial foliage all the way to the ground gives the roots energy for the upcoming season.
Divide crowded tuberous plants, such as irises and daylilies, every three years: more flowers grow in more space and add extra beauty to your front yard landscape designs!
Add Mulch to Young Plants
Add a layer of mulch to new beds after a light frost but before the ground freezes. This can be done with chopped leaves, weed-free straw, or wood chips.
To keep new plantings warm and to prevent water runoff and soil erosion, till decomposed layers of organic mulch into the soil before adding a fresh 2- to 4-inch layer. Any more, and you’ll risk smothering the roots.
Repeat Plant Shapes
Repeating a specific plant shape will help you create a theme in your landscape. For instance, tall, narrow arborvitae in the background is echoed by upright columnar white pine and blue spruce.
Consider different-colored evergreens to add interest to your front yard landscape designs. Another layer of beauty may be added by combining the blue-green pine, silvery-blue spruce, and dark green arborvitae.
Add Fall-Colored Groundcover
Ground-hugging plants that put on a fall show can help control weeds and produce a carpet of color.
For instance, cranberry cotoneaster offers brilliant red fruits with appealing fall color that is purple-red. Your garden will be more interesting if you give it a ceiling of autumn leaves above and a blanket of color below. The beauty and vibrant colors will add more to your front yard landscape designs and other areas of your yard.
Consider Landscape Structure
There are more than just plants in a great garden. Include a building, such as a pergola, arbor, fence, or retaining wall made of stone. Pick a material that goes with the design of your garden and is within your price range. You can also add a beautiful and fun structure to your front yard landscape designs.
Stone is a popular choice because it requires no maintenance and blends in with a wide range of landscaping aesthetics. For a more natural appearance, choose local stone. Or increase the allure by including different kinds of stones.
Install Multiseason Plants
Increase the impact of your yard by cultivating plants that look great all year long. The pagoda dogwood in this photo features white flowers in the spring, masses of blueberries (which birds adore) in the summer, stunning fall color, and a distinctive branching habit.
For a multiseason display, ninebark, viburnum, fothergilla, and reblooming hydrangeas are excellent shrubs. Including these shrubs will add excitement to your front yard landscape designs and wherever you see an empty space that needs color.
Appeal to the Senses
To reduce outside noise and give your yard a more private feel, consider including a water feature in your landscaping. The soft babbling of the cool autumn spring will evoke a feeling of tranquility when you stand in your yard.
Plant Japanese maples or other trees and shrubs with a strong fall display close by to take advantage of the water’s reflective properties for a double impact of color.
Choose One Unique-Looking Plant
Make sure to include at least one unusual plant in your garden plans, like this blue sausage fruit (Decaisnea fargesii), which produces distinctive and palatable fruits.
It can be a big shrub or a little tree, and it’s great for adding privacy and making people wonder what it is. By adding a unique-looking plant, you create a more interesting visual landscape. You also may strike up a conversation with neighbors!
Contrast Light and Dark Hues
When they are dark and light, opposites are especially effective at making a statement. Play up the drama of the silvery ornamental grass plumes by surrounding them with foliage that is a deep color, like purple-leaf grape.
Diablo ninebark, purple-leaf filbert, “Velvet Cloak” smoke bush, and “Black Lace” elderberry are some additional plants with stunning dark foliage that will enhance your front yard landscape designs.
Decorate With Outdoor Fall Decor Pieces
Your landscape should have a few accents that express your personality and enhance the creativity of your front yard landscape designs. This iron medallion sways in the breeze, adding an intriguing artistic touch to a sizable area of ornamental grass.
Place fall decor pieces at the border to serve as hose guides and prevent plants from being crushed as you maneuver your watering hose around corners.
Try These Front Yard Landscape Designs This Autumn
As you can see, autumn is the perfect time to redesign your front yard! Now that you’re aware of these front yard landscape designs, you can look forward to creating a landscape that will surely become the envy of the neighborhood this year!
For more landscape designs, check out the design services offered by Patriot Landscape Solutions at the link!