Liven Up Your Autumn Garden This With These 8 Bountiful Plants (2024)

Ornamental onion, also known as allium, does not actually produce any sort of edible fruit. Instead, it offers a striking burst of color with purple star-shaped flowers forming a perfect sphere. Plan to plant bulbs in an area with full sun exposure in your garden just a few weeks before the first frost. Alliums generally can tolerate most soil types but it helps to avoid planting them in very wet locations. You can expect to see these beauties pop up in the early spring and last until the height of summer.

Many herbs tend to be cool weather hardy, but we particularly love planting cilantro during the fall. One of the reasons is that you can plant the seeds in a well-draining container outdoors in warmer times of the year and easily move it indoors right when temperatures begin to take a drastic dip. Cilantro prefers six hours of direct sunlight each day, so be sure to pick a sunny spot in your greenhouse to keep the young plant. As for watering, seedlings need about 1 inch of water every week until they've matured with lush leaves.

Daffodils have long been a springtime favorite for their sunny tones and star-like appearance. Many gardeners tend to plant their daffodil bulbs right before the first frost as they are hardy enough to withstand the winter and deliver a bright surprise at the start of spring. With any type of bulb, the soil the bulbs are placed into needs to be well-draining to avoid any sort of rot. If you happen to experience drier winters, plan to water the corms regularly.

Think about mustard greens as kale's spicier and more peppery cousin. Plan to sow the seeds about three weeks before the first frost for a quick and delicious harvest before winter hits. The leafy plants need little care—just a bit of watering if there isn't much rain. Believe it or not, farmers in warmer regions tend to plant new seeds every three weeks to ensure they have mustard greens all season long.

Bok choy is one of the leafy cabbages that thrives both outside in the cool weather and inside a greenhouse. Baby varieties of these fast-growing plants typically mature from seed in 30 days with full sun exposure. The tricky part is ensuring the temperature is just right for them to grow—temperatures lower than 50 degrees Fahrenheit and higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit will cause the plant to bolt. If weather tends to be unpredictable in your region, it may be smarter to sow the seeds within a container in a greenhouse where you can control the temperature.

With varieties ranging in color from royal purple to rich ruby, clematis creates brilliant contrast against the warm browns and oranges dominating a traditional autumnal garden. Experts often recommend new gardeners to grow clematis from seedlings as it can take up to three years for the seed to fully germinate. This flowering vine prefers filtered sunlight since harsh rays can dull its vivid color and needs to be watered only when the soil is completely dry.

In milder regions of the country, it's still an ideal time to plant a few raspberry shrubs and offers the roots time to fully settle in. The canes of the berry should be sown in a sunny and dry area in the garden. Once in the ground, trim the canes down to about 9 inches to encourage growth. Installing a trellis near each cane will help the shoots to grow upwards.

Whether sown directly in the garden or nestled in a small pot on the windowsill, green onions are arguably one of the easiest vegetables to grow. These leafy alliums grow the healthiest when planted in full sun with well-draining soil. Once the leggy leaves reach about 6 to 8 inches tall, your scallions are ready for harvest.