5 Gardening Ideas for a Beautiful Fall Garden
As the air becomes crisp and the holiday season blows into Ohio, you’ll want to make sure your garden looks the part! Fall is known for its rich golds and velvety reds that bring warmth to Ohio’s chilly weather. So, use these colors as your fall inspiration for cozy and beautiful floral showcases to celebrate the season. Here are five fall flowers that are easy-to-grow, thrive in the fall, and will make a beautiful display in your Ohio garden.
Can You Plant Flowers in the Fall?
Yes! You can plant flowers in the fall in Ohio. In fact, fall gardening can be very productive and fun! But ensure that the annuals and perennials you plant will thrive throughout the fall.
As you decide on your floral choices for your Ohio fall garden, consider which flowers have the color you want and which flowers are cold-resistant. Cold-resistance refers to how well plants can function in cold temperatures, and frost-tolerance specifically refers to how long plants can survive in temperatures ranging from 28 to 32°F.
When is Ohio’s First Frost Date?
The first frost in central Ohio is around October 12th. The first frost usually marks the end of the growing season unless you have frost-tolerant plants in your garden. Knowing the first frost date for your area allows you to plan out your garden and give yourself plenty of time to transplant and prepare your plants for cold weather.
What Flowers to Plant for the Fall?
Mums
Purple, pink, orange, red–you’ll want to collect all of the mums! Mums are fall’s perfect flower because they provide a great foundation for your garden display or they can steal the show depending on how you orient them. Additionally, these perennial flowers bloom in September, and, with proper care, they’ll come back year after year even as the leaves begin to fall (get it :) ).
How to Grow
Mums follow the three golden rules that apply to most perennial flowers: full sun, lots of water, and good soil drainage. Plant them at least 6 weeks before your first projected frost date to ensure they get established by the time winter arrives. As you care for mums over the winter, cover the plant in at least 6 inches of mulch after the ground has frozen to properly insulate the flowers.
For more information on mums and other fabulous fall flowers, read our post on “The Beauty of Tri-Colored Mums.” Also, make sure to come to our Fall Fest 2025 where we have a 20,000-flower Mum Garden! It’s a stunning way to celebrate fall. You can learn more about Fall Fest 2025 here.
Aster
Mostly known for their powdery-purple hues and occasionally mistaken for daisies with whiter petals, asters are great choices if you’re looking for big bursts of colorful flowers. Growing in the corners of a pumpkin patch or woven through a fall cornucopia, these flowers provide dainty accents to soften fall’s bolder colors.
How to Grow
Ohio gardeners should give these perennials flowers full sun and lots of water. For asters to bloom and thrive, give them loamy, slightly acidic soil.
Asters take a while to mature. So, if you are looking for a full bloom this fall, then you may want to buy and transplant asters that are already grown. We have several varieties of asters waiting for you at Timbuk Farms that can survive near freezing temperatures for a brief period of time. If you want adorable, low-maintenance flowers, then plant asters this fall.
Calibrachoa
These flowers have a unique name and even more unique shape. Their inverted, cone-like centers are the perfect places for pollinators to nuzzle and will attract bees and hummingbirds to your Ohio garden.
Calibrachoa’s whimsical petals come in multicolored varieties, including bright yellow stripes between pink petals, light violet petals with plum centers, and much more! Whether you keep them in the garden for your bee friends or pluck them to make cute duckling hats (you’ll thank us later), these flowers are bound to bring joy to your Ohio garden this fall!
How to Grow
Calibrachoa needs around 4 to 6 hours of full sun per day to produce a strong bloom. These plants may also need to be watered multiple times on hot days. The trick is to balance their water intake to keep the soil moist without being overwatered. Keep the first 2 inches of soil moist to achieve that balance and make calibrachoas happy.
Globe Amaranth
Globe amaranths are a great option to give some sturdiness to your Ohio flower garden while offering beautiful color. These low-maintenance plants tend to grow tall–up to 24 inches–making them the perfect accents to add texture and height to a fall bouquet or to bring vertical intrigue to your landscape.
How to Grow
A fan of hot and humid temperatures, Globe amaranth loves heat and humidity. So, this flower is a great option if you want to get an early start on your fall garden. Globe amaranth can grow in a variety of soil types if there is good drainage to accommodate its frequent need for water. Space these plants between 6 and 48 inches apart to give globe amaranth enough room to grow into orbit!
Pansies
Pansies will paint your garden with a variety of colors. There are hundreds of types of pansies, so you can choose from a whole fall palette.
Their unique appearance and compact growth make pansies perfect flowers for decorating doorsteps, porches, and patios. You can also add them to your menu if you like colorful salads, because pansises are edible flowers. Whether you want them in a clay pot or on your plate, pansies are sure to bring a smile whenever you see them!
How to Grow
Pansies are great fall flowers because they thrive in cooler temperatures and partial sun, making cloudy autumn days their perfect weather. Although pansies are cold-hardy flowers and can withstand light frosts, it’s best to plant them before the first frost to avoid too-cold temperatures as they’re getting established. Other pansy gardening tips include watering them regularly and using soil without high nitrogen to encourage more blooms as opposed to excess foliage.
Visit Timbuk Farms for Shrubs and Gardening Supplies
Have your most beautiful garden this fall with Timbuk Farm’s healthy fall flowers and fantastic mums. Our Ohio garden center opens August 29th, so come by to get your fall plants, gardening supplies, and expert gardening advice. Let us help you make this fall your best one yet!
