Fall Yard and Garden Decorating Ideas

The weather may begin to cool off and the days seem a little shorter, but fall isn't just about falling leaves. Autumn is a great time to decorate your yard and garden. Celebrate the changing seasons with these ideas for adding color and pizazz to your outdoors areas.

Colors
Fall is full of rich, bright colors. Choose these hues to turn your yard and garden area into an autumn wonderland. Looks for decorations and items that feature the reds, browns, yellows and oranges of fall. Lone ribbons can be added to any decoration to create the effect you are trying to achieve.

Natural Items
When you think of fall you probably think of harvest and the scenes of nature. Carry this theme throughout your decorating scheme by using natural items to create a sense of the earth. Pumpkins, squash, gourds, corn stalks, hardy mums, grapevines and straw bales all can be used to create a beautiful scene.

Create a fall arrangement next to your driveway as a warm welcome and greeting to visitors. Arrange two straw bales in a V-shape or a right angle. Place an upright corn shock behind the bales. Arrange assorted sized pumpkins at various spots on the bales and on the ground in in the apex of the V or right angle. Add a large container of mums, and an assortment of gourds and Indian corn. If you have a decorative scarecrow or a painted sign that says "Welcome" or "Happy Fall" stick them in one of the straw bales.

Fall mums are a great natural items to add both color and texture to your garden or landscape. Late season mums are usually treated like annuals as they don't have enough time to establish roots to return in the spring when they are planted in the fall. If you plant fall mums early in the season (in late summer) they may establish themselves and return in the spring. Either way, large pots of fall mums can be strategically placed to brighten and decorate your yard, driveway, garden, porch or entryway of your home.

Garden Flags
Check your local discount store or garden center for decorative fall flags. I change out the flags on my flag pole according to the season. Flags with vibrant fall colors and autumn scenes, bright leaves or other items associated with fall will be just the ticket for great autumn decorating.

Scarecrows
Buy a ready-made scarecrow or make your own to add interest and whimsy in your fall garden. Combine the scarecrow with other elements (decorative yard signs, mums, pumpkins, flag pole) for interest. If you have children, allow them to help with the decorating and with creating the scarecrow.

Wagon or Wheelbarrow
A wagon or a wheelbarrow can be a fun element for fall decorating. If you don't have the time or means to create an elaborate fall decorative scene in your yard, using a garden wagon, a child's wagon or a wheelbarrow may be just the ticket. Place the wagon or wheelbarrow in a spot in your yard--near the driveway, near the porch, or near your garden. Plop a pumpkin in the wagon or wheelbarrow and on the ground next to it, then add a few containers of mums in the wheelbarrow and on the ground and voila! You've got a simple and easy fall decoration.

If you need to use your wagon or wheelbarrow for cleaning up around the yard, take the pumpkin and mums out and arrange them on the ground--your scene isn't completely destroyed. When you finish with your chores, rearrange the scene. Quick and easy--and beautiful.