Celebrate Fall With 9 Nature-Themed Outdoor Decorations
Brighten up your landscape with strategically placed pumpkins, pots of fall flowers and more
Lauren Dunec Hoang
October 10, 2021
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and in-house designer for Sunset's Editorial Test Garden. Her garden designs have been featured in the Sunset Western Garden Book of Landscaping, Sunset Western Garden Book of Easy-Care Plantings (cover), Inhabitat, and POPSUGAR.
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and... More
The natural world pulls out all the stops this time of year. From fiery leaf colors to the harvests of apples, pumpkins and gourds, nature provides plenty of design inspiration. Take a look at these creative outdoor decorating ideas ranging from a few well-placed pumpkins and simple containers to more intricate arrangements.
1. Draw Attention to Your Doorway
Few things make a more welcoming fall arrival than framing your door with colorful pumpkins and potted flowers. Draw the eye to the entrance with natural accents in mood-boosting bright fall colors like orange, gold, red and bronze.
Few things make a more welcoming fall arrival than framing your door with colorful pumpkins and potted flowers. Draw the eye to the entrance with natural accents in mood-boosting bright fall colors like orange, gold, red and bronze.
Mums are the most common flower for getting that hit of seasonal color, but there are plenty of other fall-blooming flowers and plants with interesting seeds that look just as festive.
A few to try this year: black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and other Rudbeckia species; spooky-looking trailing amaranth in bright green or dark red; or violas in rich fall colors like orange, bronze and purple. Position all containers where they’ll receive at least a half-day of sun.
12 Fabulous Fall Container Gardens
A few to try this year: black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and other Rudbeckia species; spooky-looking trailing amaranth in bright green or dark red; or violas in rich fall colors like orange, bronze and purple. Position all containers where they’ll receive at least a half-day of sun.
12 Fabulous Fall Container Gardens
2. Place Pumpkins Somewhere Unexpected
How fun are these pumpkins on fence posts marching along the edge of a vineyard? Look for new ways to use our favorite natural decoration of the season for an unexpected twist. Use repetition — like the pumpkins shown here — to make a bigger visual hit. For example, if you have large windowsills, you could place a small pumpkin in each window for a display that can be enjoyed from both outdoors and inside.
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How fun are these pumpkins on fence posts marching along the edge of a vineyard? Look for new ways to use our favorite natural decoration of the season for an unexpected twist. Use repetition — like the pumpkins shown here — to make a bigger visual hit. For example, if you have large windowsills, you could place a small pumpkin in each window for a display that can be enjoyed from both outdoors and inside.
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3. Flank the Driveway
Particularly nice if you have a long driveway or walk leading up to your house, this treatment of placing fall displays near the street immediately sets a festive theme. Arrange a mix of pumpkins, hay bales, corn husks and fall flowers (or just use one of these) around existing garden features such as a lightpost or on either side of a gate marking the entrance.
Particularly nice if you have a long driveway or walk leading up to your house, this treatment of placing fall displays near the street immediately sets a festive theme. Arrange a mix of pumpkins, hay bales, corn husks and fall flowers (or just use one of these) around existing garden features such as a lightpost or on either side of a gate marking the entrance.
For long driveways, you could even go all out and create multiple decorative arrangements along the side. Here, the designer placed straw, pumpkins, chrysanthemums and ornamental cabbage at the base of trees lining the driveway to make an exuberant — if fairly labor intensive — fall display.
4. Go Gourd Crazy
Because when else is it considered acceptable to pile up squash and call it decoration? Look for spaces like steps, window boxes or deep windowsills that give you room to be creative with the arrangement. Try mixing gourds with potted ferns, sprays of fall leaves, ornamental corn or even potted succulents.
Because when else is it considered acceptable to pile up squash and call it decoration? Look for spaces like steps, window boxes or deep windowsills that give you room to be creative with the arrangement. Try mixing gourds with potted ferns, sprays of fall leaves, ornamental corn or even potted succulents.
5. Paint ’Em
For a fresh, more minimalist take on fall decorating, limit yourself to a handful of pumpkins placed by the front gate — but make those pumpkins really stand out.
A coat of matte white or black paint, or white with a drizzle of black, gives pumpkins a distinctly modern look.
For a fresh, more minimalist take on fall decorating, limit yourself to a handful of pumpkins placed by the front gate — but make those pumpkins really stand out.
A coat of matte white or black paint, or white with a drizzle of black, gives pumpkins a distinctly modern look.
6. Create a Fall Vignette
Steal a few design ideas from the arrangements at your local nursery or pumpkin patch. First, play with levels. Use hay bales, a few overturned pots or a wooden bench to boost up pumpkins or pots of flowers. Second, use a variety of colors and textures. Pumpkins, knobby gourds and mums in gold, orange and burgundy work in harmony to make a festive fall scene.
Steal a few design ideas from the arrangements at your local nursery or pumpkin patch. First, play with levels. Use hay bales, a few overturned pots or a wooden bench to boost up pumpkins or pots of flowers. Second, use a variety of colors and textures. Pumpkins, knobby gourds and mums in gold, orange and burgundy work in harmony to make a festive fall scene.
7. Keep it Simple
Choose one fall element, like potted flowers or pumpkins, and nail the placement. For example, two pots of fall flowers placed on either side of a porch hits it just right for a touch of fall color without being over the top.
Choose one fall element, like potted flowers or pumpkins, and nail the placement. For example, two pots of fall flowers placed on either side of a porch hits it just right for a touch of fall color without being over the top.
Similarly, a single bright pumpkin placed halfway up the rise to the front door creates a welcoming accent that can be seen from the street.
8. Add Foraged Elements
Vines with changing leaves, twiggy clippings from fall pruning or sprays of rose hips can all add an interesting organic element to fall container arrangements. Combine with containers or nestle them around pumpkins on the stoop.
Vines with changing leaves, twiggy clippings from fall pruning or sprays of rose hips can all add an interesting organic element to fall container arrangements. Combine with containers or nestle them around pumpkins on the stoop.
9. Add a Farm-Themed Accent
You can pull off the rustic country look without going all out to create a fun, fall-themed front yard display. The key is to anchor it around a single rustic piece — like a wooden barrel, garden cart, wheelbarrow or potting station – for structure. Position it on your front lawn or porch, in a front garden bed or anywhere else it can be viewed well from the street or entry walkway. Then, layer fall elements like potted foliage plants and decorative gourds with antique-style elements like old metal milk jugs, weathered baskets and wire egg crates.
You can pull off the rustic country look without going all out to create a fun, fall-themed front yard display. The key is to anchor it around a single rustic piece — like a wooden barrel, garden cart, wheelbarrow or potting station – for structure. Position it on your front lawn or porch, in a front garden bed or anywhere else it can be viewed well from the street or entry walkway. Then, layer fall elements like potted foliage plants and decorative gourds with antique-style elements like old metal milk jugs, weathered baskets and wire egg crates.
Tell us: How do you decorate your front yard for fall? Show us in the Comments.
More on Houzz
8 Ways to Give Your Yard a Boost for Fall
Find more entryway inspiration
Find a pro for your home improvement project
Shop for outdoor products
More on Houzz
8 Ways to Give Your Yard a Boost for Fall
Find more entryway inspiration
Find a pro for your home improvement project
Shop for outdoor products
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I love autumn. I love pumpkins. I have a slope that is calling for a few pumpkins spread about. However, they are a bugle call for the resident deer and perhaps other critters. I do have some fake pumpkins displayed with other nonedibles. I gave up that battle a few years ago after picking up mashed up pumpkins and deer poo :(
Fall is my favorite time of year! I love all the pictures everyone shared. I recently had emergency surgery (ruptured appendix) so I have not been able to do my usual outdoor decor ( other than window clings on my front door); so I focussed more on the inside of my home.
If you have door sidelights and it’s windy outside, I have discovered that mini tension rods are awesome. Just pop a few on the inside of the sidelights and you have an instant display case for the delicate things you don’t want the storms/wind/dust/critters to destroy.