Fall in Seattle often means steady rain, cozy evenings and colorful, crisp leaves underfoot. It also brings an opportunity to add fresh color into our yards, right as our perennial plants start to wind down for the season.
Here’s what makes fall annuals work in our climate, along with five of our favorites for seasonal color, texture and scent.
What Makes an Annual Work for Fall in Seattle
Annuals live for a single season, bringing immediate color and scent to our garden beds and containers. The varieties we choose for fall need to establish quickly, hold their color through cooler temperatures and handle our steady rain.
Unlike perennials that add structure and character through the years, annuals are all about bold, vibrant impact. Through a seasonal color program, we rotate fresh plantings into landscape designs as the seasons shift, keeping yards colorful year-round. For fall, that means swapping out warm-weather plants for varieties built for cooler temperatures.
If you want to read more about how to choose the plants that work for your garden, you can check out this resource from the Saving Water Partnership.
Our 5 Favorite Fall Annuals for Seattle Gardens
Pansies (Viola × wittrockiana)
Pansies can handle Seattle’s cooler, wetter autumns and keep blooming well into the colder months. Their wide color range makes them easy to work into garden beds or containers.
Ornamental Kale (Brassica oleracea)
Ornamental kale brings unique texture to fall gardens. It has ruffled, layered leaves in shades of purple, white, and green that hold up through frost and rain, adding structure to a planting long after other annuals have faded.
Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum)
Mums bring bold rust, burgundy and gold tones during fall. They’re a classic fall annual option for immediate, vibrant color and visual impact.
Stock (Matthiola incana)
Stock carries a strong, spicy scent and thrives as a cool-season bloomer.
Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
Sweet alyssum adds small flowers with a honey-sweet fragrance. It works well along container edges and border fronts, filling in gaps at ground level.
Designing a Landscape for Fall Color
Bringing vibrant autumn color to your yard comes down to combining showy perennials, colorful annuals and hardscape elements that work with the season.
Whether you’re looking for a full seasonal color rotation or a landscape layout that works year-round, we are glad to help you find the right mix for your space.
Contact us to talk through your ideas and get your garden ready for fall.