If you’re tired of the hot temperatures, planning ahead for fall flowers and fall vegetable gardens is a good way to channel cooler temperatures as the season approaches. Here are a few ways to turn your homes into a pumpkin-spice paradise.

Fall planter arrangements

Planters are still a great idea for fall as long as you use flowers that love the sun, but can still thrive when temperatures dip at night. Reds, oranges, rusts and browns are abundant in fall flower shades and perfectly match pumpkins, straw and other fall décor that is often used to create nice curb appeal along walkways, doorways, on patios and in public areas.

Creating the perfect fall planters can be planned using the thriller, filler and spiller method. Choose plants and flowers in fall colors that work well together such as strawflowers, supertunias, superbells, dichondra, and fountain grasses.

Fall ornamentals and flowers

If you want to freshen up your flower beds or landscaping for the fall, there are a lot of interesting and fun flowers and plants you can use for the fall. Remove all old summer blooms, fertilize and till the soil and you’re ready to go. Here are a few great choices for fall that are cold tolerant and can often last through the winter and into the New Year:

• Ornamental cabbage in a variety of colors like white, pink and purple
• Pumpkins and gourds
• Pansies
• Ornamental grasses
• Flowering kale
• Mums
• Celosia
• Purple fountain grass
• Croton
• Aster
• Dianthus
• Sweet Alyssum
• Ornamental peppers
• Violas
• Black-eyed Susans

Fall vegetable gardens

Summer’s crops are probably starting to fade, so it’s time to clean out all the old stuff and get ready for the new. Yes, there’s still plenty of time to put in and enjoy new crops for the fall. The soil is still very warm, which means seeds will sprout quickly and easily, especially if you’ve already prepped your vegetable beds with fertilizer or compost.

Here is a list for your fall vegetable gardens:

• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Greens: Spinach, Lettuce, Chard, etc.
• Radishes
• Onions
• Beets
• Beans
• Bush peas
• Basil
• Parsley
• Squash

No matter what you decide to plant this fall, remember that keeping your soil healthy is the key to a vibrant crop. Year-round growing seasons like we have here in Visalia will eventually deplete soil of nutrients. Keep adding compost or fertilizers to soil throughout the year and rotate crops to keep your flower beds and gardens happy and healthy.

We’ve got a great variety of fall flowers, plants and vegetables here at Luis’ Nursery to choose from, with new stock arriving all the time. Give us a call at (559) 747-5015 to find out what we have in stock, or visit us at our Visalia location at 139 S. Mariposa Ave. We know you’ll love what you find here.