While taking a walk around the Queen Village Neighborhood of Philadelphia I spotted this super gorgeous windowbox jam packed with interesting foliage plants perfect for fall. Black Mondo Grass and ornamental cabbages? Yes, please!

If you want to recreate this look, here’s a container plan and plant list:

1. Black Mondo Grass
2. Fern
3. Ornamental cabbage
4. Wire vine

You may have to really squeeze the plants in, but the strappy leaves of the ferns and mondo grass look best when they comingle with nearby plants. I’ve found that it’s easiest to start from back to front, putting in the larger plants first, and then following with smaller plants.

If you have perennial plants (those that live for several years, as opposed to annuals that live only one season) growing in containers, you may be wondering what to do with those plants during winter months. If you live in Southern California or a similarly mild climate, your entire winter plan may involve bringing your pots inside for the one or two nights of below freezing temperatures your area gets each year. However, if you live in an area with weeks or months on end of freezing or near freezing weather, most (or all) of your plants will need to come inside until next spring.

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Violas, cyclamen, and ornamental kale are typical recommendations for fall gardens. But what if you’re looking for a different, more unique look this fall? I’ve got three suggestions, and I invite you to share your favorite fall flowers in the comments. Together we should be able to make a pretty good list!

Calendula

Photo by Gertrude K.

Calendulas look like ruffled daisies and provide a punch of color from late fall through spring in mild-winter climates. They’re also great as cut flowers because their flowers last a long time. Plants get to be about 12-18 inches tall and wide. They like  full sun and prefer to dry out before watering again.

One of my favorite varieties is ‘Zeolight.’ It’s flowers change from bronzy orange petals and fade to a delicate light pink.

Helebores

Photo by Phil

Hellebores add sparkle to the garden at a time of year when few other things are blooming. They have either downward or upward facing flowers, although the upward facing ones are becoming more popular. The flowers come double or single, and in a wide variety of sophisticated-looking colors. They take full shade or part sun and like fast-draining potting mix. Water regularly.

A grower I met at the Garden Writers Symposium told me that Europeans like giving hellebores as hostess gifts that can be planted in the garden after the plants are done blooming. Sounds wonderful to me.

Check out a variety called ‘Onyx Odyssey’ that has double black flowers. The flowers hold their deepest-purple color for three months or more. Stunning.

Helenium

Photo by Jartweb

Helenium–their less appetizing common name is ‘Sneezeweed’–look like sunset-colored coneflowers. Plants form an attractive clump that will be completely covered in flowers. And they’re great for forgetful gardeners because they won’t protest too much if you miss a watering or two and are fine without fertilizing.

Gardening is both very “here and now” and also forward focused. Yes, most flowers are fleeting and must be enjoyed in the moment. But at the same time, if you want vegetables in the fall, you have to start planting in summer. Here are five vegetables that you may not have tried growing before. And yes, you can grow in a container garden.

Bunching Onions /  Scallions

Believe it or not, true bunching onions are actually perennials. If you leave a few behind when you harvest, they will divide and make new plants for you to harvest. So, what’s the difference between true bunching onions and others that are just posing as such? The real thing will never turn in to a large bulbous onion, they just keep on dividing to form a large clump of bunching onions. Sometimes regular onions are harvested when they are immature and called scallions.

To grow your own bunching onions, sow your seeds in a pot that is not completely full of soil (i.e. leave several inches between the top of the soil and the edge of the pot). As the seedlings grow, slowly and carefully mound more soil into the pot. The more of the plant that is below the soil, the more “white part” you’ll have. Check out a variety called ‘Deep Purple‘ or ‘Red Robin,’ for scallions with a unique red cast to them.

Kale

Kale is such a lovely looking plant, you might have a hard time actually harvesting. But if you’re like me, the desire to try making your own kale chips will force your hand. I’m planning planning on trying Heather’s recipe, it looks simple and tasty!

Kale likes rich, fertile soil that is kept evenly moist. An easy way to kill two birds with one stone is to add a little sea weed extract to your watering can once a week. Stop watering after the first frost. Keeping with the red vegetable theme, why not try ‘Red Bor‘ or ‘Red Russian.’

Bok Choy

I like planting bok choy in staggered rows in windowboxes. Sow the seeds over a couple of weeks so that you’ll have a few plants ready to be harvested at a time. They like moist but not soggy soil. And give them a mild, evenly balanced fertilizer every two weeks, or use fertilizer in time released pellets.

You should have plants large enough to eat in less than 60 days. Sautee bok choy in a hot pan with scallions and ginger and you’ll have a super tasty source of vitamin C and vitamin A.

Radishes

If you’re looking for something that won’t require much effort or know-how to grow, look to radishes. But that doesn’t mean you have to grow boring supermarket-varieties. As long as you can keep potting soil as moist as a wrung out sponge, you can grow beautiful, tasty radishes. Check out ‘French Breakfast,’ ‘Watermelon,’ or ‘Easter Egg Blend‘ for some neat looking and better tasting radishes.

Brussels Sprouts

You may have horrible memories of overcooked vegetable side dishes when you think of brussels sprouts, but don’t let bad cooking scare you off. Browned in garlic butter on the stove top, and then squirted with lemon juice and tossed with walnuts and dried cranberries, brussels sprouts are truly heavenly. And if that wasn’t enough to convince you, check out brussels sprouts nutritional info. They are a great source of Vitamins K, C, A, and folate.

Plant brussels sprouts in full sun, in a deep pot. A single plant can produce 50-100 sprouts, more than enough to have several dinners’ worth. Give plants a full dose of a complete fertilizer before sprouts form. Harvest the sprouts when they’re a little smaller than a golf ball. The sprouts on the bottom of the stalk will mature before the top, so harvest only the sprouts that are ready and leave the rest to continue growing.

This past September 26th came and went without a birthday card or any other acknowledgement from my two brothers. I thought they both somehow forgot. It seemed pretty hard to believe. My birthday has been on the 26th of September for the past 28 years, and they were alive for 26 and 19 of those birthdays respectively. As it turns out, only the 19 year old forgot. The older of my two brothers ordered an assortment of bulbs as a gift, but didn’t realize that they wouldn’t be shipped until it was the right time to plant them in my area. Receiving the box in mid October was a wonderful surprise.

Among the bulbs my brother picked out for me were these Autumn Crocus, which I planted in a pot near my front door. On top of the bulbs, I planted some sweet allysum to cover the bare dirt. The effect is really pretty and couldn’t have been easier.

I got the idea from this video created by Sunset Magazine. Even if it is already pretty cold in your area, I think you would still be able to do something similar. A lot of bulbs need a long cold winter to produce beautiful flowers in Spring. If you plant them now in a pot that won’t crack, you can leave them outdoors this winter and receive a your “gift” next Spring.

Thank you very much for reading Life on the Balcony. By far, the best part of writing here is interacting with the people who leave comments or send me emails. I love reading about your gardening experiences and learning from your tips and ideas. I hope you’re having a wonderful Thanksgiving and are enjoying time with your family and friends.

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I hate Halloween. There. I said it. If there was a bad guy for Halloween–a grinch of some sort–I’d be it. The constantly ringing doorbell (even with my porch light off!) drives me nuts and scares my cats. And then when I open the door, half the time I see teenagers too old to be trick-or-treating, begging for candy. Dude. If you want candy, get a job and buy some!

Photo by Melissa Maples

Now that I got that rant off my chest, I think I can admit that I am one of the few people in the Halloween-celebrating-world that doesn’t like the holiday. So I thought I would collect some of the decorating ideas that even I can admit are pretty neat:

• Want to do something different with your pumpkin this year? Check out this really neat stencil and technique from Sunset. It will make your pumpkin look more like a wood carving than a jack-o-lantern. Sunset has tons of extraordinary pumpkin carving ideas. The crazy cat lady in me really loves the black cat o’lantern.
• If you have a lot of empty pots on your balcony right now, why not fill them with some moss and these “pumpkin toadstools” from Martha Stewart? These tin can robot jack-o-lanterns are another a cool idea from the homemaking diva.
• A quick and easy way to add some instant autumn charm to your balcony would be to pop some mums or other cool-season flower into a hollowed out pumpkin. A black flowering plant would look great!
• These maple leaf string lights would look pretty draped over your balcony railing. Or maybe you could create a wreath out of them.

How are you decorating for Halloween?

Temperatures usually don’t get cold enough to really harm my plants until January or February here at the beach in So Cal (and then we’re only talking about the low 40s), but I hear that those of you in the rest of the country start getting pretty cold weather about this time of year. Here are some tips to protect your plants and pots from cold snaps.

1. Move Plants Indoors: If possible, move your plants into a sunny window inside your home. Obviously you want to make sure they are free of pests before moving them inside. To keep them bushy, pinch them back if they become leggy. If that’s not possible, move your plants to your garage or a shed. Many plants become dormant during the winter and won’t miss the sunlight. To help them get ready for dormancy, slow down their watering schedule for several weeks before moving them. Once they’re in the garage, only give them enough water to keep the soil from completely drying out.
2. Make a Tent: If your pots are too big to move indoors, or you don’t have room for them, it’s pretty easy to create a tent to help keep your plants warm. If possible, move them up against a wall or the building. Then stick bamboo stakes (available in your garden center) into your pots so that the top of the stakes are about 6 inches above the plant. You’ll also need a painters’ tarp, you can get disposable ones for pretty cheap, but be sure to get one that is substantial, not too flimsy. Then drape the tarp over the stakes. Weigh down the edges with empty pots or rocks. During the day, be sure to open up one side to let in fresh air and keep things from getting too damp under the plastic.
3. Wrap Your Pots in Bubble Wrap: I’ve never done this, as my area doesn’t really get that cold, but the Brooklyn Botanical Garden recommends wrapping the pots of marginally hardy plants in special bubble wrap that you can find at your local nursery. More info about that here: Protecting Your Containers During Cold Weather – Advice From People Who Know About These Things.

What do you do to protect your perennial plants during the winter?

All of my herbs are still going strong, as are all of my perennial flowers (which I think is pretty much everything, I didn’t plant any annuals). I have cut down most of my hot season edibles, like the pepperoncinis, Grand Mariconi, and bell peppers. While we still have occasional days of 80/90 degree weather, the generally cooler weather has seemed to the plants to stop putting out new flowers. No flowers, no peppers. So I pulled them to make room for lettuces and other greens. But in Southern California there is no season where you shut your garden down completely.

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