10 Ideas for Fall Outdoor Decorations

For instant harvest decor, start with pumpkins. Carved into jack o'lanterns or left intact, pumpkins by your front door sell the harvest decor message.

Explore the many varieties of heirloom pumpkins and gourds for your space. Cascade a jumble of pumpkins on your front steps, or arrange clusters of gourds by your walkway. Mums mimic the rounded shape of pumpkins; pop them into your designs for added color and texture.

Light up your path with luminaria or solar lanterns to brighten evenings and guide visitors to your home. Go for pale white or orange lights to complement the changing leaves. If you love Halloween, there are pumpkin or ghost pathway lights you can add.

You can carve your pumpkins, leave them natural or paint them. For a chic look, paint them black and add touches of metallic gold paint in a design of your choice.

Jewel-colored pots of mums make for fresh and fun outdoor decor. "Mums" are chrysanthemums, a genus in the Asteraceae family, and related to daisies.

In the Garden Center, look for mum cultivars in a variety of colors like orange and yellow, burgundy and purple. You'll find an array of bloom sizes, from pretty petite flowers to abundant double blooms.

Mums fill Garden Center benches beginning in late summer, depending on your area of the country. Buy your favorite colors and fill in your harvest arrangements on your porch.

Tip: Snip stems from your potted mums and place in cut flower arrangements inside your home.

No need to wait for December to break out the holiday inflatables. Start with a fall-themed collection. Decide first where to place them, and from there, installation is a snap.

Tips for inflatables in your yard:

• Plug them into outdoor extension cords and blow up some fun in the front yard.
• Tether them to the ground with stakes and create a harvest or Halloween wonderland.
• Sizes vary, so choose pre-lit inflatables to fit your yard and to be visible from the street.
• At the end of the season, deflate your airblown decorations, fold and store until next year.

Scarecrows are practical for protecting crops in your garden. They also make whimsical, and sometimes creepy, decor for your home.

You can make your own scarecrow from found objects and recycled clothing. It's a great project for kids.

Look online and in the Garden Center for decorative scarecrows to accent your harvest display at home. Pick up a few hay bales to build out your display and support the scarecrow base.

Once you know how to carve a pumpkin, you can create myriad designs from quirky to comical to spooky. To make the job easier, look for pumpkin carving kits and special stencils.

Follow these tips for carving a pumpkin:

• When you clean out the pumpkin, put the seeds aside to rinse, dry and roast. Roasted pumpkin seeds are a tasty treat.
• Make your jack-o'-lantern last longer by applying petroleum jelly to carved surfaces and along the cut interior.
• Instead of candles, use flameless LED candles or string lights for a fuss-free glow.
• Keep your carved jack-o’-lantern outdoors in the cool air to preserve its good looks.

Fill window boxes with vibrant fall flowers and plants and give your home some love. Top with decorative moss or branches of leaves to hide the pots. Layering plants in the window box creates volume and oomph.

Using the thrill, spill and fill technique is eye-catching. Thrill means the plant has height. Fill means the plant has depth and width. Spill means vines overflow out of the pot. This technique creates a gorgeous window box that will dazzle visitors to your home.

Tuck petite pumpkins and gourds among the flowers to carry the fall theme.

Best plants for fall window boxes:

• Coleus
• Croton
• Mums
• Flowering cabbage
• Flowering kale
• Ornamental grasses (small)
• Sweet potato vine

When autumn leaves start to fall, or maybe before, harvest branches from trees and shrubs for your floral arrangements. Accent with ornamental grasses, pumpkins and flowering cabbages and kales.

Use galvanized buckets to host pumpkins, cabbage plants and decorative lanterns. If using large planters, fill the containers partway with recycled packing materials and then with soil to anchor your plants. This makes for a lighter pot that uses less soil. Add autumn garland around the containers and on porch railings for more pizzazz. Seeded eucalyptus leaves and baby gourds are a nice addition as well.

Another idea is to slip potted shrubs with bright fall foliage into containers. Place on either side of your front door.

Look for these fall-friendly shrubs:

• Azalea
• Boxwood
• Camellia sasanqua
• Hydrangea (compact varieties like "Pop Star" and "Little Lime")
• Loropealum (like "Jazz Hands")

Galvanized planters add a rustic touch to your porch in the fall. Fill with seasonal plants like flowering kale, mums or pansies.

Here's an idea for a quick decorative fall pot with outsize impact. Fill a large urn two-thirds full of empty plastic bottles or jugs. Pile pumpkins, gourds and squash in a pyramid shape. Fill gaps with decorative moss. Use as a beautiful centerpiece in the garden or on your porch.

Bring the rustic look of a farm to your front porch with hay bales. Stack hay bales like building blocks to hold pots of mums and pumpkins.

Tip: Create an Instagram-worthy backdrop for your Halloween party with stacks of hay bales for sitting and propping on.

Outdoor living spaces like porches and patios are perfect for entertaining in the fall. Create a welcoming front porch for cool autumn evenings with accessories like comfy outdoor pillows and warming throw blankets. You don't always need a fire pit for cozy get-togethers - set flameless candles around and enjoy the warm glow.