Fall
A Garden for Fall Color: Foliage That Blazes in Autumn
The garden's last and loudest show. Trees, shrubs, and grasses that set autumn on fire.
Spring gets all the attention, but fall is the garden's grand finale, and a well-planted one goes out in a blaze of red, orange, and gold. Fall color comes almost entirely from foliage, from trees, shrubs, and grasses whose leaves catch fire as the nights cool, and a few well-chosen plants will light up the garden for weeks just as everything else fades.
The trick is to plant for it deliberately, layering trees, shrubs, and grasses so the color comes at different heights and lasts as long as possible. Many of these double as natives that feed wildlife, too.
Trees that set the season ablaze
A single tree with good fall color can light up an entire garden. These are among the very best.
Acer palmatum
The aristocrat of fall, its delicate leaves turning blazing scarlet, crimson, or gold.
Acer saccharum
The classic of the northern fall, a big shade tree that turns brilliant orange and gold.
Ginkgo biloba
An ancient, trouble-free tree whose fan-shaped leaves turn pure butter-yellow, then drop all at once.
Amelanchier
A small native tree with white spring flowers, summer berries, and fiery orange-red fall color.
Taxodium distichum
A tough native conifer that defies the rules, turning a glowing russet-orange before dropping its needles.
Shrubs and a vine for fall fire
At eye level, these shrubs and a wall-climbing vine bring the reds and burgundies right into the border.
Hydrangea quercifolia
A native hydrangea whose big oak-shaped leaves turn deep wine-red and burgundy after months of white bloom.
Cotinus coggygria
Already smoldering purple in summer, its rounded leaves blaze scarlet and orange in fall.
Physocarpus opulifolius
Tough and easy, with foliage that finishes the season in warm bronze, gold, and red tones.
Viburnum
Many viburnums end the year in rich red and purple, with berries that feed the birds alongside.
Parthenocissus tricuspidata
The classic wall-cover, turning an entire facade brilliant crimson and scarlet in autumn.
Grasses and perennials that turn
Do not overlook grasses and a couple of perennials, which carry warm color and movement through fall and into winter.
Schizachyrium scoparium
A native grass that turns the most beautiful coppery orange and red, glowing well into winter.
Miscanthus sinensis
Foliage fading to gold and bronze under great silver plumes that catch the low autumn light.
Panicum virgatum
An upright native grass turning warm gold and amber, standing tall through fall and winter.
Amsonia
A perennial grown as much for fall as for flowers, its feathery foliage turning brilliant golden-yellow.
Hylotelephium 'Autumn Fire'
Flower heads aging from pink to deep rust and copper, holding their color late into the season.
Fall color loves sun and a cool snap
The best fall color comes from plants in full sun: warm days and crisp nights bring out the brightest reds, while shade mutes everything to yellow. Site your fieriest plants where the low afternoon sun can backlight them, and the whole garden seems to glow from within.
What plants have the best fall color?
Maples (especially Japanese and sugar maple), ginkgo, and serviceberry among trees, oakleaf hydrangea, smokebush, and viburnum among shrubs, and grasses like little bluestem and switchgrass.
Why are my leaves not turning color in fall?
Fall color needs sun and cool nights. Plants in shade, or in a warm sheltered spot, often fade to dull yellow or brown instead of turning bright red and orange.
What gives color to a garden in autumn?
Mostly foliage: trees, shrubs, grasses, and a few perennials whose leaves turn red, orange, and gold, joined by late flowers like asters and mums and the berries of shrubs like viburnum.
Design a garden with these plants
Open BloomsEye Studio with this guide's plants ready to drop onto a plan, then watch the whole bed bloom across the year.