When fall truly arrives in the Bay Area and our temperatures decline deliciously, seize the opportunity to refresh your outdoor décor with annuals that thrive in cooler weather. I look forward to updating the pots on my front porch and back deck in addition to popping fresh color into my beds and borders. I use annuals as yard and garden accessories, editing as I please to complement the holiday or season (or my whim).

Fall color begins with Garden Mums. Chrysanthemums come in wonderful shades of burgundy, rose, rust, red, orange, yellow, and white. You can also plant Nemesia, Rudbeckia, Cosmos, Schizanthus, Linaria, Cheiranthus, Gypsophila and Lobelia in the fall and the display should last until rainy weather starts.

For color in sunny areas from fall until spring use Calendulas, Alyssum, Dianthus, Snapdragons, Ornamental Cabbage and Kale, Forget-Me-Not, Stock, Iceland Poppies, and of course, my favorites, Pansies and Violas. Look for some new varieties of Pansies this Fall – Whiskers Red/Gold, Whiskers Yellow, Wine Flash, and Yellow Purple Wing. New Viola varieties are Baby Face Lavender, Gem Apricot Antique and Merlot Mist. For the shadier spots we will have Cyclamen and many varieties and colors of Primulas.

Late fall is also a great time to sow seeds of spring blooming annuals such as Godetia (Clarkia amoena), Larkspur (Consolida ambigua), Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena), Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus), as well as native wildflowers like California poppies (Eschscholzia sp.), Lupine, Farewell-to-Spring (Clarkia sp.), Mountain Phlox (Linanthus grandiflorus), Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa), Gilia, Baby Blue Eyes, Five Spot (Nemophila sp.), Meadowfoam (Liminanthes sp.) and Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium sp.).

When you take the time to decorate with annuals in the fall as well as the spring your garden enjoyment multiplies with every colorful bloom!

– Heidi