From David Beaulieu,
Your Guide to Landscaping.
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None of the foregoing remarks on Page 3 concerning the role of form and texture in landscape design, then, are intended to minimize the importance of providing fall colors for the autumn landscape. And most people have specific colors in mind when choosing a fall color scheme for their perennial or annual flower gardens in fall. The classic fall color scheme of red-yellow-orange makes for a powerful celebration of the harvest season. Orange and yellow nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus; see picture above on right), lemon yellow French marigolds (Tagetes patula 'Lemon Drop') and reddish-purple plumed celosia (Celosia argentea var. cristata), for example, will set your annual flower gardens ablaze in autumn splendor.

A metallic color scheme is also popular in fall landscape design: golds, silvers and bronzes. For example, golden African marigolds (Tagetes erecta 'F1 Gold Galore') , Silver King artemisia (Artemisia ludoviciana 'Silver King,' a perennial to zone 5), and a bronze coleus (Coleus x hybridus) work well together.

Alternative Fall Color Schemes for Perennial, Annual Flower Gardens

But not everyone favors these traditional fall color schemes. Some prefer the pinkish-purple chrysanthemums over other colors, and another perennial, the purple New England aster (Aster novae-angliae), is popular for fall planting. If your tastes are a bit more eccentric, or if you need a taller specimen, inquire at local garden centers about the availability of a reddish-purple annual fancifully known as, love-lies-bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus).

Regardless of the color scheme you choose for your landscape design, do not forget to include fall flowers when landscaping your front yards in fall. Northern landscapers, in particular, should heed this reminder. Winter will bring its silence soon enough; let the landscape sing the praises of summer one more time. It will be your last opportunity until spring.