Summer baskets are done, and your front door probably looks a bit sad now.
You want to liven the area up a bit, but maybe you’re not sure which plants do well at this time of year. Luckily, these autumn combinations will keep things looking gorgeous through the cooler months without needing you to be some sort of gardening expert.
Pansies with trailing ivy and ornamental cabbage
Pansies are incredibly tough little flowers that laugh in the face of frost and keep blooming when everything else has given up. Mix them with ivy trailing down the sides and stick an ornamental cabbage in the middle for something a bit different.
This combo works because the pansies give you colour, the ivy fills out the basket and trails nicely, and the cabbage adds texture that looks dead fancy. You can get all of these at any garden centre cheap as chips right now.
Chrysanthemums with heuchera and trailing begonias
Chrysanthemums are your classic autumn flower, and they come in loads of warm colours like rust, bronze, and deep red. Pair them with heuchera for those gorgeous dark leaves, and add some trailing begonias to soften the edges and hang down.
The heuchera stays good-looking all through autumn and even into winter, while the chrysanthemums give you huge impact. Begonias keep flowering until the first proper frost hits, so you get loads of mileage out of this combination, really.
Violas mixed with ornamental peppers and purple sage
Violas are like pansies’ smaller cousin, and they’re brilliant for autumn because they just keep going and going. Chuck in some ornamental peppers for their bright little fruits and purple sage for foliage that smells amazing when you brush past it.
This one’s a bit more unusual, and the peppers add height in the middle, and the violas and sage fill everything else in. The purple and orange colours together look seasonal without being too Halloween, if you know what I mean.
Cyclamen with silver dichondra and winter flowering heather
Cyclamen are underrated because people think they’re just houseplants, but they’re tough as old boots outside in autumn. The silver dichondra trails down like a waterfall and heather gives you those lovely purple or white flowers that last for ages.
This combo’s got a softer colour palette than the usual autumn oranges and reds. It looks really elegant and the dichondra catches the light beautifully, plus cyclamen flowers keep appearing for months if you deadhead them occasionally.
Asters with golden creeping jenny and ornamental grasses
Asters give you those daisy like flowers in purple and pink that bees absolutely love right when they need it most. Golden creeping jenny trails down and catches autumn sun beautifully, and ornamental grasses add movement and texture to the whole thing.
The grasses bring something different to hanging baskets that you don’t normally see. They sway in the breeze and add height without being too heavy, and the whole combination has this cottage garden vibe that’s really lovely for autumn.
Sedum with trailing rosemary and purple ajuga
Sedum’s got those thick succulent leaves and clusters of pink or red flowers that butterflies go mental for. Trailing rosemary smells incredible and stays green all winter, and purple ajuga fills in gaps and adds that deep colour contrast against the others.
This is more of a foliage heavy basket, but it works brilliantly because everything’s quite architectural looking. You barely need to water it compared to summer baskets, and it looks good right through until spring without much effort from you.
Dahlias with calibrachoa and bronze carex
Small dahlias in baskets give you those big, bold flowers in autumn colours like burgundy and burnt orange. Calibrachoa keeps pumping out little flowers until frost hits, and bronze carex grass adds texture and fills out the basket without overwhelming everything else.
Dahlias in baskets might seem weird, but the dwarf varieties work perfectly. They give you that wow factor while the calibrachoa softens everything and trails nicely, and the carex ties it all together with foliage that looks intentional, not just filler.
Primulas with black mondo grass and silver senecio
Autumn primulas come in jewel tones like deep purple and burgundy that look incredible against black mondo grass. Chuck in some silver senecio for trailing foliage, and you’ve got a really sophisticated looking basket that doesn’t look like everyone else’s.
The black grass is a game changer for making combinations look more interesting. It stays looking good all year and creates contrast that makes the flowers really pop, and the silver senecio adds brightness without needing actual flowers to do it.
Rudbeckia with chocolate cosmos and trailing lobelia
Rudbeckia gives you those cheerful yellow flowers with dark centres that scream autumn. Chocolate cosmos has these deep burgundy flowers that actually smell like chocolate, and trailing lobelia in purple or white softens the edges and keeps flowering surprisingly late into autumn.
This combination’s got a wildflower meadow feel to it. The height difference between the rudbeckia and lobelia creates depth, and the chocolate cosmos adds something unusual that people always ask about because the flowers genuinely do smell like cocoa.
Helenium with bronze fennel and trailing verbena
Helenium’s got those gorgeous daisy flowers in rust and bronze shades that are massively autumnal. Bronze fennel adds wispy foliage that moves in the breeze and smells gorgeous, while trailing verbena gives you clusters of tiny flowers that keep going until proper frost arrives.
The fennel’s the secret weapon here because it adds drama and fills space without being heavy or solid looking. Everything in this basket has a loose natural feel rather than looking too manicured, which fits autumn’s slightly wild vibe perfectly, really.