13 Lovely Fall Ideas for Flower Boxes
By: Tessa
Here’s a confession: We adore flower boxes, so we get excited when our exterior design clients request them or are open to adding them into a design plan. There’s something magical about window flower boxes. Depending on how you style them, they can give off major fairy tale cottage vibes, a sophisticated French feel, or a modern farmhouse aesthetic. And they can make you look like you have your life put together because, although window boxes are low maintenance, they create a polished look. We had fun putting together this list of lovely fall flower box ideas, and we hope you love it, too.
At brick&batten, we specialize in more than just flower boxes. In fact, we offer full virtual exterior design services. The process is simple: You send us a photo of your home and tell us about your project goals. Then, we let our creative juices flow and come up with a custom exterior makeover that takes your curb appeal next level. You’ll get a rendering so you can visualize our plans plus links to all the materials we suggest using. Let’s get your home looking pretty!
#1 // Plant Fall Blooms
Contrary to popular belief, many flowers thrive in the fall. Give your window boxes one last colorful hurrah by loading them with marigolds and mums, which both show off in late summer and early fall. Choosing bright colors like red and yellow can complement the changing leaves and even show up from the street. You can save the evergreens for winter!
#2 // Stain Your Boxes
Staining wood anything is a pretty messy endeavor, so we suggest taking advantage of those last few days of perfect weather in the fall by either giving your old window boxes a fresh coat of stain or staining new ones from the store. Try to match the stain to other architectural elements on your home, like your front door or the wood finish beneath your porch awning. It’s the little details that make a design come together!
#3 // Play With Purple
Purple is an under-appreciated fall color. It’s located right across from autumnal yellow on the color wheel, making it a true complementary color pair. Flowering kale is the loveliest purple, and it thrives in cooler fall temperatures. Pair it with some purple mums and white pumpkins and you’ve got yourself a lovely window box. We also like incorporating purple into fall window box ideas because this color is hard to use in other exterior design elements (you won’t ever find us painting any houses purple. Leave violet for the blooms!).
#4 // Think Variety and Texture
When picking out plants for a fall window box, we often suggest incorporating as much texture as possible. Add some blooming pansies (they can handle a little cold) and plant some herbs like thyme that can drape down the sides. Lavender is another great fall herb for adding texture because it stands a bit taller than most plants, but it still won’t overpower the box. And many people forget that lavender gets a second blooming season in fall, not just early summer!
#5 // Prep for Winter With Frost-Friendly Plants
Does fall seem like one of the shortest seasons where you live? If you’re hesitant to put in the effort of curating the perfect fall window box because you’re just afraid the frost will get to it in a couple of weeks, you can always mix in evergreens like boxwood that still look pretty in the winter. Even though your boxes might look more sparse in the winter, they’ll still have something alive in them! Or you can add in some twigs or other decorations in place of your fall plants when the weather turns cold. And if you cover your boxes when the first couple of frosts hit, you can keep them looking nicer much longer.
#6 // Add in Fall Fruit
Some of the most unique window boxes we’ve seen have something unexpected in them. Chances are, you’ve seen pumpkins in flower boxes before, but have you ever seen apples or pomegranates? Both apples and pomegranates stay fresh for long periods, much like gourds and pumpkins. However, if you’re afraid of raccoons or other critters eating up your fruit, you can always opt for fake fruit. You can often find great options that look like the real deal.
#7 // Swap Outdated for Modern
Awkward, nonfunctional balconies? Shutters that scream fake? Do your windows justice by swapping these dated elements for some window boxes with sleek, modern lines. It’s a perfect fall weekend project that will make a big difference! It typically costs right around $75 to add a couple of window boxes, so it’s a cheap way to pass the time on a gorgeous Saturday.
#8 // Right Your Window Box Wrongs
With the start of a new school year, we like to think of fall as a time for new beginnings. And we’re just going to level with you for a minute here: There’s a good chance that your current window boxes are too small for your home. Next to mis-sized shutters, mis-sized window boxes are one of the most common exterior design faux pas that we see. As a general rule of thumb, window boxes should be at least the length of the window; however, they shouldn’t extend more than three inches past the window trim.
#9 // Embrace Season-Neutral Perennials
Let’s face it: It’s pretty easy to get attached to plants and start to think of them as our babies (hence the popularity of the term “plant mom”). And much like gender-neutral baby clothes are perfect for handing down to the next baby, season-neutral perennials are perfect for using year-round, especially if you live in a warmer climate or if you move your window boxes inside for the winter. So, in other words, you have our full permission to not get super festive this fall with your window boxes.
#10 // Paint ‘Em
We encourage our clients to save their exterior paint projects for the fall for many reasons. For one: It’s the season with the fewest temperature fluctuations and lowest humidity, meaning paint usually dries beautifully during this time of year. Of course, this rule applies to painting details, like trim and window boxes.
#11 // Get Twiggy With It!
Much like adding pumpkins, placing fall twigs in your box is a super quick way to take it from summer to autumn. You can even forage for your own twigs with unique orange berries to add to the mix. Or, use fake ones (we won’t tell). If you combine real and fake plants in your flower box, your neighbors won’t even be able to tell that some elements are fake.
#12 // Embrace the Dried Flower Trend
Lately, we’ve been seeing dried flowers pop up in every home goods store, the curated homes of Instagram influencers, and even in bridal bouquets. Why not take the trend to your window boxes? Celosia, strawflowers, and ornamental grasses thrive in the fall, and they kind of already look dry even when alive. Before the first frost, you can pick them and hang them upside down to dry. Then you’ll have a pretty indoor arrangement to admire in the winter!
#13 // Let The Ivy Grow!
Ivy can sometimes destroy a home’s structural integrity, especially on homes with wood siding. But a couple of strands hanging delicately from a flower box never hurts anything! Certain ivy varieties do best when you plant them in the fall, so there’s no time like the present.
We Love Flower Boxes No Matter the Season
We hope these fall flower box ideas have you inspired and ready to get busy this weekend! Of course, window boxes look more natural on some homes than others. But, if you’re longing for flower boxes of your own, there is usually a way to add them without overwhelming your home’s curb appeal. That’s why we created our exterior home design services — to help you visualize a design so you can make wise choices for your home. Get started today!
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