Don't Waste Time! 6 Tips To Create Your Dream Fall Yard Design

Fall is just around the corner, and now is the perfect time to start planning your yard to enjoy the beauty of the autumn season to the fullest. Not to mention that fall is ideally the best season to add new plants to your garden due to more forgiving weather conditions.

But what are the best plants for the fall season?

And what are the best budget fall landscaping ideas for it?

To help you find the autumn landscape design that best suits you and your budget, we created a guide of the 10 most affordable design tips for your garden.

Ready to discover some amazing fall landscaping ideas? Then let's get started!

Jump to the Section You Want:

 #1: Fall Trees and Shrubs

#2: Perennial Flowers

#3: Perennial Herbs

#4: Vegetables

#5: Divide and Multiply

#6: Hardscapes

Why Landscape Your Yard in the Fall?

#1: Trees and Shrubs For The Fall Season

Trees and shrubs are mostly low-maintenance, and they don’t require much care after planting.

And if the colorful, stunning leaves of autumn are what you love the most about the season, every year, the following deciduous trees and ornamental shrubs will gift you with vibrant fall foliage akin to a real-life classic fall landscape painting that is sure to take your breath away.

The best landscape trees for fall color:

October Glory Maple (Acer rubrum) for USDA zones 4-9:

• A great shade tree with lustrous foliage
• A fast-growing red maple cultivar
• Has a moderate to fast growth rate
• Can grow up to 50 feet tall
• Grows well even in drought
• Most importantly, it has a breathtaking red-orange seasonal color

Bloodgood Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) for USDA zones 3-9:

• A cultivar tree of Japanese maple
• A perfect deciduous tree for small yards
• Has a beautiful branching pattern and can grow up to 20 feet tall
• Ideally planted as a specimen tree (specimen trees in landscaping are used to enhance the visual aspect of yards or for their aesthetic beauty in different seasons)
• Commonly used in bonsai
• Produces spring blooming bulbs with bright red foliage, changing color to burgundy in summer, but its color becomes most impressive in autumn

Barberry (Berberis vulgaris):

• A hardy bush that can also be used as a hedge to fill in any bare spots due to its consistent growth pattern
• Perfect for woodland and cottage landscape design styles
• Has a vibrant color and offers year-round seasonal interest
• Small yellow or orange flowers bloom in the spring; bright red or purple berries in the winter; and, of course, brilliant fall colors for the autumn season
• There are over 400 species of barberry to choose from

Oak-leaf Hydrangea:

• A small shrub that has leaves similar in shape to the oak tree
• Offers a year-round seasonal interest. Beautiful flowers bloom in the spring and summer seasons.
• The leaves turn a dazzling array of autumn colors, such as purple, amber, and crimson in the fall

#2: Perennial Flowers

Flowers are the heart of any garden. Those fragrant and aesthetically pleasing blossoms attract butterflies and can make you feel as if you were in a private meadow.

And, for someone on a budget, perennial flowers are perfect as they require very little maintenance once established.

Best landscape perennial flowers for the fall:

Asters:

• A frost-hardy flowering plant that is a staple of any fall garden
• Plant them six to eight weeks before the ground freezes
• Purple, lavender, white, and pink daisy-like dainty flowers bloom every year around late August and keep going strong until frost
• Butterflies and bees love it

Mums (Chrysanthemum) for USDA zones 4-8:

• Mums are one of the favorite flowers that come back every year and are another stable of fall gardens
• Its flowers showcase some of the most vibrant and eye-dazzling colors, ranging from purple, red, and orange to white and yellow
• Place them as a backyard center or on your front porch in the fall

Japanese Anemone (Anemone x hybrida) for USDA zones 4-8:

• Beautiful and gentle flowers with white or pink blossoms with a bright yellow center
• Blooms in late summer and continues to thrive until frost
• Known to attract birds and butterflies
• A perfect plant for landscaping due to its versatility as it can be used in borders, garden beds, cottagecore garden styles, and coastal gardens

#3: Perennial Herbs

Unlike when you plant flowers, herbs don't just offer amazing fragrance and ornamental beauty but also provide you with your very own culinary herb garden.

This makes them a perfect addition to any garden no matter the season.

But the fall season remains the ideal time to plant perennial herbs as it offers great growing conditions and makes it much easier to grow new plants. Furthermore, perennials barely need any maintenance after establishment.

The best perennial herbs for the fall:

Mint:

• Evergreen and can be harvested year-round
• Emits a nice and refreshing scent and is also edible
• Plant them directly in the garden soil or pots
• Has a beautiful and vibrant green color

Sage:

• Evergreen and can be harvested year-round
• Both the leaves and the flowers are edible
• Grows well in both pots and garden soil

Thyme:

• Evergreen and can be harvested year-round
• Edible and grows well in pots
• Has a lovely purple and lavender color

Rosemary:

• Evergreen and can be harvested year-round
• Both the leaves and the flowers are edibles
• Has a nice scent and grows well in pots

#4: Vegetables

Much like planting herbs, vegetables can be a great addition to your fall garden. Not only will you be growing your edibles, but you will also be relieved from so many of the problems that accompany summer vegetable gardens, such as pests and plant diseases, high humidity and temperatures, bugs, and constant maintenance.

The best vegetables for the fall:

Garlic:

• Very simple to grow
• Can enjoy the harvest as soon as the next summer
• Many garden pests don’t like garlic
• A great edible for your daily cooking

Radishes:

• Super easy to plant
• Love the fall weather and thrive in it
• Have a fast growth rate and can be harvested in the fall, in less than 30 days after planting
• A great edible for your daily cooking and is easily stored
• Have more than 200 varieties to choose from

Kale and Collards:

• Easy to grow from seeds
• Love the fall weather and thrive in it
• Healthy superfoods
• Although ornamental kale and cabbage likewise deliver a lovely seasonal color, they tend to have a bitter flavor and are mostly used as garnishes.

#5: Divide and Multiply

If you already have plants in your yard or you have friends or relatives who have grown gardens, you can add new plants to your yard for FREE.

All you have to do is propagate your existing plants. Propagation is to breed specimens of a plant from the original parent plant by digging them out and separating the roots into several separate smaller plants.

This method will allow you to add more plants to your yard for free. Not only that, but you will also be increasing the health of the parent plant.

And if you see other plants in a neighbor’s or a relative’s yard that you want, you could always ask them to swap them with you.

And the best thing is that fall is the ideal time for dividing your perennials.

#6: Hardscapes

A perfect yard incorporates more than just plants. Sure, plants are the living heart of any garden, but without structure, it might end up looking like an overgrown forest.

At this time of year, home improvement centers offer competitive fall prices for outdoor landscaping materials. From installing fences to adding a water feature or outdoor lighting, there is an abundance of options to decorate your garden for the fall.

Here are some money-saving hardscaping ideas:

Stone Retaining Walls & Fences

Stone is a commonly used material due to its low maintenance and variety. It adds structure to the yard and increases the visual appeal.

Arbors & Pergolas

The texture in your backyard design can be accentuated by arbors and pergolas, which are also wonderful places to set up a seating area to enjoy your garden.

In addition to offering good cover from rain, wind, and snow, they will create a warmer space to spend time in your yard.

Excellent for crawling plants to display their spectacular flowers and hues.

Outdoor Lighting Options

A fall garden after nightfall is a whole other experience. Especially with the right outdoor lighting plan.

Vintage metal lanterns can help create a warm and cozy atmosphere. And for a low-cost, do-it-yourself project, consider making your mason jar lanterns, which offer their own unique charm with their simple and welcoming design.

A Seating Area For The Cool Fall Weather

The fall season is also known for its inviting, cozy atmosphere and cooling weather. And it's perfect for you to sit down and spend some relaxing time in your fall yard with a warming drink and a satisfying view of beautiful autumn foliage.

And this calls for a cozy seating area in your outdoor space where you can take advantage of your newly landscaped garden and enjoy the new wonders it offers.

Place a table and a couple of chairs on your patio or under your favorite shade tree or your newly installed pergola, and you will be on your way to turning your garden into your favorite resting area.

And here are some tips to prepare that seating area for the cooling weather.

A Log Fire Pit

Choose a log fire pit for a cozy and traditional atmosphere.

Advantages:

• A real log fire to stay warm, cook food, or toast marshmallows with your family
• Enjoy the satisfying smell of burning wood
• Wood is always an available, low-cost, and efficient energy source
• A very affordable way to heat your backyard in the cool weather
• Light your outdoors with a gentle glow
• An amazing decorative feature to add to the overall design of your fall yard

Fire Lantern

A fire lantern is a must-have to create an atmospheric and rustic ambiance.

Advantages:

• Great for creating a comfortable and relaxed ambiance
• Portable and easy to move around
• Perfect for small yards
• A very affordable way to heat up your outdoors
• Gas-fueled, so no smoke or need for cleanup

An Inflatable Hot Tub

A little bit more pricey but who could resist a hot tub in the cold weather?

Advantages:

• Inflate it easily with the included pump
• Can support up to six people simultaneously
• An accompanying heating unit will keep the water comfortably heated
• Can be easily stored in your garden shed

Why Landscape Your Yard in the Fall?

No season is better suited to planting new trees and perennials for your garden than the fall. The soil is still warm and welcoming, thus providing a healthy root growth environment.

And with gradually cooling weather and plenty of rainfall, the new trees won’t have to face the harsh dry weather of the summer or its damaging high temperatures.

By planting in autumn, you will give your new plants the chance to establish strong roots and grow healthy for the entirety of the fall season.

And don’t worry, winter won’t kill them. It might slow down their growth, but they will be well preserved for the season of blooms, spring!

And most of all, fall is the perfect season for budget landscape design. Firstly, trees and perennials are fairly low-maintenance once you are done with the initial planting.

And secondly, you can easily find them at a nicely discounted price at most garden centers and nurseries around you at this time of year as they will be offering end-of-season discounts while getting themselves ready for the upcoming pumpkin season and then, of course, Christmas trees!

Of course, it is not easy to turn what you want into what you have!

Especially when it comes to landscaping, where having the perfect landscaping plan is at the root of creating your dream yard.

There are many styles of landscape design to choose from. Things are bound to get confusing at some point, and all the money spent on building a great yard might go to waste if it is not planned well in advance.

After all, perfect landscaping all comes down to a great design. And sometimes, having the experienced and creative eyes of a landscape designer is the best and most affordable way to create your dream yard.

And with ShrubHub’s professional team of landscape designers, you will be able to get a full landscaping design package for just under $300.

And for a limited time, you will get a 70% promo discount on all our design services.

Don’t miss out! All you need to do is sign up on our website shrubhub.com to get started on your fall yard today.

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