Photo Tour: Chicago Neighborhoods Dress Up for Fall
The Windy City shows off for the harvest holiday with extravagant planter arrangements and thoughtfully placed pumpkins
With Thanksgiving around the corner, residents of Chicago’s North Side neighborhoods Lakeview East and Lincoln Park put their porches and doors on display with festive decor. Both neighborhoods boast a mixture of high-rises and vintage family walk-ups, and one thing’s for sure: Mum’s the word — or, shall we say, the decor of choice.
Among the row houses in Lakeview East that are sporting fall wreaths, you can find this standout example. It incorporates muted miniature pumpkins, gourds and berries, and is accompanied by lavender mums.
Another fall wreath is just next door, combining a variety of leaves, apples, berries, and pine cones.
Upon a closer look, we can see that the neighborly hanging planter’s foliage is draped over the topiary of ornamental cabbage.
This Chicago porch includes flower-filled window boxes, ferns, miniature pumpkins, a pumpkin tree branch wreath on the front door and yellow mums at the foot of the front steps.
At the historic apartment building The Belmont are grand entryway containers filled with seasonal arrangements.
12 Fabulous Fall Container Gardens
12 Fabulous Fall Container Gardens
The textural arrangements include mauve mums, ornamental cabbage, baby blue eucalyptus, dried leaves and branches.
Dying hydrangeas and purple globe amaranth make for a wonderfully cool autumnal color palette in The Belmont’s garden bed as well.
Just down the street, another apartment building boasts colorful and textured foliage in large copper planters, for a striking display.
8 Knockout Flowers for a Fall Container Garden
8 Knockout Flowers for a Fall Container Garden
A simple orange pumpkin serves as the focal point in this bursting-at-the-seams arrangement.
Also in Lakeview East, The Barry — a classic and classy condominium building — is tastefully festive with a carefully pruned cypress topiary and purple globe amaranth. These entryway planters are understated while complementing the building’s gorgeous gold accents.
On the northwest side of Lakeview East, a display of fall decor at a family home includes ornamental pepper plants, a variety of gourds, mums and a small front yard filled with golden-leaved shrubs.
This colorful exterior features a festive porch vignette that combines purple mums with classic orange and white pumpkin varieties.
A pair of simple twig wreaths adds just enough decoration to the detailed turquoise doors.
Classic orange pumpkins serve as small planters for red daisies.
This weathered moss-covered overhang stands out from the neighboring brick homes, and its grassy texture adds a fall vibe. Dried maize on the front door adds another natural touch.
The Lincoln Park neighborhood is known for its historic and high-end homes. This contemporary home’s owners decorated for fall with front yard planters filled with elements in classic fall colors.
This fall planter contains favorite seasonal go-tos: dried hydrangeas, miniature pumpkins and gourds, ornamental cabbage and white mums.
If you’re looking for another way to spruce up your front porch, take a lesson from these steps, which are decorated with layers of colorful squashes, twig pumpkins, a hay bale and golden mums.
10 Fun Ideas for Decorating With Pumpkins, No Carving Required
10 Fun Ideas for Decorating With Pumpkins, No Carving Required
Also in Lincoln Park is this charming single-family brick home with a colorful display of pumpkins. The red-orange pumpkins are also known as Cinderella pumpkins, because they supposedly inspired the pumpkin carriage in the famous fairy tale.
Among the thoughtfully stacked and striking display of pumpkins is a Long Island Cheese pumpkin, second from top. Its dull orange hue and shape give the pumpkin its name — it resembles a big wheel of cheese.
Also in the mix are a white Moonshine pumpkin below it, a Blue Lakota on the bottom step and the green-and yellow striped Kakai pumpkin — all displayed in front of a lush planter.
Join Us for a Parade of Pumpkins
Also in the mix are a white Moonshine pumpkin below it, a Blue Lakota on the bottom step and the green-and yellow striped Kakai pumpkin — all displayed in front of a lush planter.
Join Us for a Parade of Pumpkins
This Lincoln Park porch shows how nature, in the form of lush plantings, can help do the decorating for you.
Hydrangea blooms are fading to a lovely blush color in front of this elaborate front door, and stand out against the dark steps.
Sometimes it’s the simplest piece — in this case, an unassuming planter of white mums — that completes the decor.
More: Celebrate Fall With 9 Nature-Themed Outdoor Decorations
More: Celebrate Fall With 9 Nature-Themed Outdoor Decorations