Dress your front door with a warm autumn display

If your front door area looks lacklustre, it’s time to warm it up with some welcoming autumn colours in rich burnt oranges, deep red accents, soft seedheads and textured foliage.

“The trick is choosing plants that provide colour, texture and structure, all while celebrating the richness of the season,” says Julian Palphramand, head of plants at British Garden Centres, the UK’s largest family-owned garden centre group.

“Whether it’s a neighbour calling by, trick-or-treaters arriving on a crisp October evening, or you are simply coming home with the last of the light, your display will lift the moment and is proof that even the smallest space can celebrate the magic of autumn.”

It might include autumnal wreaths, berried plants, lanterns and other displays inspired by harvest time.

Here, experts offers the following tips:

Consider space

“If you have quite a bit of space, the really simple but effective thing to use is chrysanthemum balls, which give you that Cape Cod-style because they come in gorgeous colours including bronzes, rusts, oranges and yellows,” says Kate Haines, plant area manager at Squire’s Garden Centres.

“Having those in different sizes and different colours, and just having those in pots, leading up a series of steps or on a porch, gives you autumn vibes.”

If space is an issue, consider just having one big pot with, say, three different plants, such as Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan), which have eye-catching yellow-gold flowers or bronze-orange flowers with a brown button eye.

Mix them with Anemanthele ‘Sirocco’, which is green through the summer, turning rust-orange in the autumn, and a low-growing evergreen perennial such as heuchera or heucherilla, she suggests.

Once you hit November, take the rudbeckia out and replace it with a hellebore to take you through winter, she adds.

Frame the entrance

“Start with taller specimens to anchor the display. Standard bay trees are timeless, neat and evergreen, while clipped topiary balls or spirals add an elegant twist,” Palphramand suggests.

For natural drama, a small acer will set your doorway ablaze with fiery foliage, and compact conifers offer a strong structure on either side of your porch that will see you through winter.

Include rich colour

“Around these tall plants, layer in bursts of autumn brightness,” he suggests. “Chrysanthemums are a showstopper, their dome-like flowers glowing in oranges, reds and golds.

“Cyclamens thrive in cooler air, lifting spirits with their jewel-toned blooms, while calluna heathers soften the look with spires of pink, purple and creamy white.

“For foliage, we recommend heuchera as its leaves come in rich shades from caramel to plum, adding vibrancy to your door. Ivy also adds charm as it tumbles down pot edges, while hebes bring glossy greenery and a late flush of flowers in the autumn months.”

Make a wreath with garden stems

“As you are cutting down and tidying up, there are normally stems you can use as a base for the wreath, plus things like rosehips and berries. So whether it’s from holly, pyracantha or cotoneaster, even hydrangea flowers when they have dried out, there’s quite a lot of stuff you can use from the garden,” Haines says.

Ornamental grass seedheads from miscanthus can be used in wreaths as well.

Use plants with personality

Some plants can add real autumn character. Ornamental chillies, with their fiery little fruits, are almost like natural autumnal fairy lights.

Ornamental grasses bring texture and movement, their feathery seed heads shimmering in low afternoon sun.

Sedums bring flat flower heads deepening into dusty pinks and russets as the weeks go by and are loved by pollinators.

Frame with standards

If you want to frame your front door and don’t want to splash out on traditional bay tree standards, you could try Photinia ‘Red Robin’ trimmed down to a standard size and shape, and underplant it with ivy, for a modern urban look, maybe enhanced with some small orange lights, Haines suggests.

Don’t forget berries

Berried plants can also carry an autumn display through into the colder months. Hypericum produces glossy berries in shades of red, orange and gold, while gaultheria offers bright clusters against shiny green leaves, says Palphramand.

Viburnum brings both berries and autumn foliage, and snowberries are a delight with their pearl-like clusters.

Think Halloween

Nestle pumpkins among pots, not just the traditional orange but pale ghost varieties too, Palphramand suggests.

“We’ve seen a lot of interest over the last few years in little ornamental gourds, which have weird lumps and bumps on them,” Haines adds.

“A big pile of those with different shapes, colours and textures in a trug would look really good next to a big more traditional pumpkin,” she suggests.

Layer your autumn door

Think of your porch as a stage with tall bays or acers at the back, conifers for structure, chrysanthemums and cyclamen bursting through the middle, and ivy or heuchera softening the edges. Group your containers at different heights for a lively, welcoming effect, Palphramand advises.

British Garden Centres is now inviting the public to enter its annual Decorate Your Door For Autumn competition, encouraging households to dress their doorsteps with seasonal style, take a picture of it and submit it, with a chance to win gardening prizes worth up to £500, including a British Garden Centres Gift Card and a range of gardening products from suppliers.

The competition closes on October 12. For details visit britishgardencentres.com