Though it felt like summer lingered into September, autumn has officially arrived. Shorter days and falling leaves signal the season's change. Our St. Albans garden centre is brimming with plants, planters, berry bushes, pots and spring bulbs to enhance your outdoor spaces. Add a touch of autumnal cheer to your patio, balcony, or doorstep with vibrant blooms and hardy evergreens. Consider placing containers on windowsills or garden tables for a welcoming touch.
Time to plant spring bulbs!
Enhance your outdoor spaces with vibrant blooms and attract beneficial wildlife. Plant mini tulips,grape hyacinths, bulbs of daffodils, or crocuses in your flowerpots and containers for a stunning spring display. These early-blooming flowers provide essential sustenance for pollinators like bees and bumblebees. Additionally, wintergreen berry bushes will attract birds to your rooftop terrace, balcony or garden.
Top 5 autumn blooms for pots and containers
- Aster (Aster tradescantii)
- Chrysanthemums
- Heather (Erica)
- Winter pansies
- Autumn cyclamen (Alpine violet)
Top 5 evergreen berry bushes for your balcony and terrace
- Pernettya
- Gaultheria
- Foxberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea)
- Skimmia
- Dwarf Buford Holly
Beautiful combinations for a pot or container
Combine these top picks with plants, bushes, and ornamental grasses featuring variegated leaves, wintergreen foliage, or captivating autumn colour changes. Consider options like:
- Trailing, wintergreen ivy.
- Leucothoe, a captivating shrub adorned with deep red-green leaves that ignite with even more intense crimson hues as autumn approaches
- Wintergreen dwarf conifers.
- Petite ornamental grasses, such as the enchanting blue sheep's fescue, the striking black Japanese snake grass, the bronze-hued sedge (Carex), and the delicate feather grass (Stipa tenuissima).
- The enigmatic silver bush (Calocephalus brownii), adorned with whimsical, silvery-grey branches that seem to luminesce in twilight.
- Heuchera, a captivating plant boasting a kaleidoscope of leaf colours, ranging from vibrant lime green to caramel and even deep, almost black hues. In mild winters, its leaves retain their lushness and vitality.
- Ornamental cabbages, a delightful addition to your garden, feature smooth or frilled leaves in a captivating spectrum of colours, dominated by green, white, or pink.
Practical tips for planting and potting
When crafting your vibrant autumn pots and containers, consider the plants' sun preferences and ensure proper watering. Prevent overwatering and root rot by adding drainage holes to pots and containers, and place a layer of pot shards or hydro granules on the bottom. Opt for frost-resistant containers to protect your plants during cold weather.
More autumn
Enhance your balcony or rooftop terrace with decorative gourds, pumpkins, lanterns with sturdy candles, garden lighting, or a charming bird feeder. Discover a wide selection of these items, along with spring bulbs, at Carpenters Nursery.
