10 Garden Bed Combinations That Are Perfect For Fall

Garden beds spilling over with vegetables, flowers, and foliage in fall is like the grand finale in a fireworks show. This is especially true in places that will soon be blanketed in snow, but inhabitants of warmer zones don't need to miss out on a season they hardly experience. Harvest-toned edibles and ornamentals are both welcome in fall gardens, no matter where you live. And no one will bemoan a few summery pinks and purples to brighten their November soil, either. 

The right plant ensemble will look good, withstand a bit of cold, and even help each other grow. Some of these combinations will tough out mercury dips below freezing, like violas and cabbage, while others luxuriate in a long warm fall, such as celosias and dusty millers. Add planting a few of these beautiful, resilient, and/or tasty to your fall garden to-do list, and the transition to winter won't feel nearly as abrupt and final.

Enjoy colors you don't expect to see post-frost with the pairing of Johnny jump ups and ornamental cabbage (Brassica oleracea). Johnny jump ups are cold-hardy with purple, white, and yellow blooms. Ornamental cabbages come in green, purple, white, pink, and combinations of these hues and can withstand chills as low as 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Low-growing Johnny jump ups sit alongside compact ornamental cabbages without either plant's size overpowering the other. Ornamental cabbage grows up to 2 feet high and wide, and Johnny jump ups will happily surround the heads with color.

Joining the forces of celosia and dusty miller (Jacobea martitima), you get a contrast on several levels. Their color and shape differences highlight each other, and while their hardiness zones have little overlap, they can coexist happily during a long frost-free fall. Dusty miller's silvery, rounded leaves provide a cool, smooth backdrop against spiky celosia's blazes of color. Celosia isn't a bit frost tolerant, being hardy only in zones 10 and 11, whereas some varieties of dusty miller (typically considered hardy in zones 7 to 10) have been reported to overwinter in zones as cool as 4.

Cold weather wonders black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) and little bluestem grass (Schizachyrium scoparium) look lovely together and are hardy in zones as cool as 3. Although deadheading black-eyed Susans can keep these bright yellow beauties in bloom for months, hold off so that some blooms go to seed; these perennials will keep birds flocking to your garden all winter long as a reliable food source. The purplish-green blades of little bluestem hold onto their seed heads through winter, providing even more sustenance for furry and feathered visitors.

Chrysanthemums are the quintessential fall flower, looking perfectly at home next to pumpkins. These autumnal blooms are hardy in zones 3 to 9, and if you've purchased hardy garden mums rather than florist-grown plants (or "exhibition mums"), they should survive the winter. Luckily, mums look equally pleasing when paired with pansies, part of the Viola family that comes in a rainbow of colors, just as mums do. These seemingly indestructible flowers keep close to the ground and complement the 2- to 4-foot height of chrysanthemums nicely.

The coneflower-feather reed grass combo is another winter wildlife buffet that blooms beautifully into the chill of fall. Coneflowers (Echinacea) toss heads of purple petals with conical, brown centers atop stems sometimes as tall as 4 feet. They are hardy in zones 3 to 9, just slightly tougher than their potential plant partner feather reed grass (Calamagrostis arundinacea). In zones 4 to 9, these two can rub shoulders in statuesque style. Normally green feather reed grass takes on a copper-yellow hue come fall, and at similar heights as coneflowers, neither will dwarf the other.

Attractive and edible gardens can persist past September, and both kale and calendula are perfect candidates for this role. Plus, their pumpkiny color contrast of orange flowers against deep green leaves is striking. The coolest part of this partnership is that calendula is known to repel the aphids that commonly pester kale. Plant a border of calendula around your kale, and aphids will feast on the flowers rather than your future salads. Calendula is edible, but it's easier to sacrifice its bitter leaves and petals to protect your desirable kale.

For desert and arid dwellers, both skunkbush sumac (Rhus trilobata) and Russian sage (Salvia yangii) are good-looking, drought-resistant plants that will thrive without much water. Both are also quite cold hardy, with skunkbush thriving in zones 4 to 6and Russian sage managing well in zones 5 to 9. And, in fall, their value goes through the roof. Skunkbush sumac leaves transform from green to golden yellow to deep crimson, and bees swarm to Russian sage's purple flowers for a late-season feeding frenzy before settling down for the winter.

Another name for cranesbill is "hardy geranium"; that's enough to let you know its suitability for your fall flower beds. Cranesbill (Geranium spp.) are durable yet surprisingly delicate-looking flowers that come in white and gradients of both pink and purple. Hardy in zones 5 to 8, cranesbill stands tall next to 'Ostfriesland' sage (Salvia nemorosa 'Ostfriesland') with its electric purple floral spears. This type of sage grows well in zones 4 to 8 and rivals cranesbills' 2-foot stature but sometimes topping out just a shade shorter at 1 to 1 1⁄2 feet tall.

The more vertical and very colorful avens (Geum spp.) and low-spreading creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) make an interesting duo. You may know avens by prairie smoke, goldy star, or clove root. They are hardy in zones 5 to 7 and bloom in white, yellow, pink, orange, or red with seed pods resembling smoke. Waving on stems between 9 and 18 inches high, avens tower above creeping thyme. Let this latter plant do what it does best — creep along while looking purple and pretty at no more than 3 inches in height. Creeping thyme is hardy in zones 4 to 9.

The team of fava beans (Vicia faba) and snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) deliver on floral beauty as well as flavor. In zones 6 and higher, you can direct-sow favas in the fall for sprouts as soon as a week later. Favas fix nitrogen and contribute to healthy soil next spring. Their leafy stalks with white or purple blooms can stand nearly twice as tall as snapdragons' maximum of 3 feet. Snapdragons come in cotton candy colors and are officially hardy in zones 7 to 10. Still, they may be among the last flowers to brighten your beds in late fall.