"Your container's flowers have served you very well during the lazy days of summer, brightening up your balcony or patio with their blazing colors and aromatic fragrances. Colorful summer visitors such as butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds have had their fill of sweet nectar from the lovely blossoms that graced your containers. Even they know that it's time to seek warmer climes where they will find new nectar sources until spring returns."

"Nothing will make your patio, balcony, or front porch look more dismal than containers filled with faded or dying plants. Now is the appropriate time to remove the summer annuals from their containers that won't survive winter in colder northern regions. These plants can be placed in your compost pile for use as great mulch the following spring. Before placing your spent plants in your compost pile, however, make certain they are not diseased or infested with insects. If they show any signs at all of disease or insect infestation, dispose of them either by burning them or placing them in your trash for disposal."

"Must your containers now be emptied of their soil and stored until spring? Worse yet, must you have only the barren dirt that held your dazzling summer flowers to feast your eyes upon during drab winter days? Not at all! For it is now that you can begin to take your creative container gardening to the next step."

"There are really no "etched in stone rules" about which types of containers should be used to create delightful fall displays. Using some of the containers that held your spring and summer displays will serve several purposes. You will already have your favorite containers on hand, they will likely fit nicely in the same locations, and it will be cost effective if you don't need to purchase new ones. The same soil used for summer displays is usually appropriate for most fall container plantings, with minimal amendments."

"Perhaps you had either a lovely windowbox, or several large wooden planters that sat on your patio, and maybe rustic wooden half barrels flanking a wide stairway. Other containers may have been terracotta urns, troughs, or pots, durable plastic pots of varying sizes and shapes, or even hanging wire or moss baskets. Any or all of these can be transformed into creative and festive fall containers."

"Even if you didn't plant spring or summer containers, you may now find yourself in the mood to create some festive fall containers to brighten up your patio, front porch, or other drab areas before Old Man Winter arrives with gusto. A trip to your local garden center will prove rewarding to find containers of every size, shape, color, or material to suit even the most discriminating gardener."

"Also, don't forget to look for some unique containers you may have stored in your garage, attic, or basement such as buckets, tubs, old wooden crates, or maybe even your grandmother's favorite old breadbox. Some of these may be just waiting to be useful again, and could serve as superb fall containers and great conversation pieces at the same time."

"For any plant to thrive, whether in containers or gardens, using the proper kind soil is critical. As previously mentioned, most soils used for summer containers can also be used in fall planters, with some amendments. Keep in mind that fall planters do not require as much water as summer thirsty summer container plants, whereas summer soils need to be lighter, yet able to hold moisture. Fall soil needs to be richer in nutrients and perhaps a bit more dense. Summer potting soil can be rejuvenated by adding a mixture consisting of four parts of commercial potting soil (which contains perlite or vermiculite), and one part each of sand and peat moss or "

"It is not recommended to use ordinary garden soil in containers. Garden soil often contains diseases or noxious insect larvae that could eventually devastate your beautiful plants."

"This 32-page booklet is part of Storey Publishing's Country Wisdom series. In this informative booklet you'll learn:"

"There are many varieties of plants that will transform your containers into festive fall delights. When deciding what types of plants to choose for your fall containers that will last until very cold winter temperatures arrive (possibly longer), some attributes to look for include:"

"There are so many delightful plants suitable for festive fall displays that it can literally boggle your mind. Since all gardeners have personal preferences about plants and containers, the final choice of plants here will be left to the reader. However, if you simply don't have a clue about what to plant for starters, the autumn display suggested below may spark your creative juices."

"It seems that wherever you see planters of almost any kind, you will also see various species of ivy mixed with the other flowers or shrubs. Ivy has long been a favorite of gardeners everywhere because of its very nature. English Ivy is evergreen and thrives in all climate zones, making it especially desirable for use in fall planters. Its deep green leaves are very showy, having three to five lobes 2-4 inches across. English Ivy also likes smaller spaces in which to grow, which is another plus
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