Creative Autumn Decor

Mums and white pumpkins

Autumn is a great time to be unconventional with seasonal décor—pretty much anything goes. Classic mums and ornamental kale strike a sentimental chord with us so we incorporate them into our designs each year; however, we like to challenge ourselves by finding inventive ways to use them. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

Often we turn to plectranthus when we need a foliage element in a design. ‘Mona Lavender’ certainly has some striking foliage but we grow it primarily for its showy lavender flowers—as the days become shorter they start popping up in abundance. We like the way they look against the dark green leaves.

Now, take a closer look at that glossy foliage—the undersides of the leaves are purple. We grow this plant in light shade to part sun, but the more light it gets the more intense the leaf coloring becomes—both the green on top and the purple underneath. Between the intriguing foliage and the funky flowers it’s hard to go wrong with this versatile plant.

En masse ’Mona Lavender’ resembles a gentle lavender mist settling over the landscape—or an eerie purple haze, if you’re in Halloween mode. It will reach about 2 feet tall and looks impressive as the lone element in a planter or hanging basket as well. This variety will tolerate a light frost—it can also be used for indoor displays.

‘Mona Lavender’ is available in the 4.5-inch pot.

Ornamental Pepper ‘Pumpkin Pepper’

Our ornamental pepper ‘Pumpkin Pepper’ is ready to go for Halloween displays. You may remember that the fruits of this unique pepper plant resemble mini pumpkins. Dark purple, nearly black foliage adds to the holiday motif—seasonal orange and black come together in one package.

‘Pumpkin Pepper’ is a scene-stealer on its own and adds a bit of Halloween quirkiness to autumn combinations. It can withstand several light frosts without any damage to the peppers. These little pseudo pumpkins can be left on the plants, adding plenty of fall interest as they dry.

We grow ‘Pumpkin Pepper’ in the 8-inch pot.