Color Your Garden from Fall to Spring with Annuals

Color Your Garden from Fall to Spring

11 Cool-Season Annuals to Brighten Bay Area Gardens

Who says flower season ends when summer does?

In the Bay Area, fall is the perfect time to refresh your garden with colorful cool-season annuals. Our mild winters make it possible to enjoy cheerful blooms, beautiful foliage, and fresh garden color throughout the cooler months and well into spring.

Whether you're refreshing containers near your front door, filling garden beds, or adding a little color to your patio, these seasonal favorites can help keep your garden looking lovely long after summer flowers have faded.

Meet Your Cool-Season Favorites

Cyclamen

Elegant blooms for shady spaces

With delicate, upswept flowers and beautifully patterned foliage, cyclamen bring welcome color to shady patios, entryways, and garden beds. Their blooms shine during the cooler months, making them a wonderful choice for winter color.

Best in: Part shade to shade.

Dianthus

Sweetly scented and full of charm

Dianthus brings cheerful, often fringed blooms in shades of pink, red, white, and more. Many varieties offer a light, spicy fragrance and can flower throughout the cool season, especially with a little deadheading.

Best in: Full sun to part sun.

Iceland Poppy

Delicate petals, delightful color

With papery blooms that seem to dance above their foliage, Iceland Poppies bring a light, airy feel to the garden. Plant in fall to enjoy their colorful display as temperatures stay cool, particularly from winter into spring.

Best in: Full sun.

Ornamental Kale

Colorful foliage that loves the cold

Who needs flowers when foliage looks this good? Ornamental Kale creates beautiful rosettes in shades of purple, pink, white, and green. Cooler temperatures help intensify its color, making it a standout in winter containers and garden beds.

Best in: Full sun to part sun.

Pansies

Happy faces for cooler days

With their charming, colorful blooms, pansies are a classic choice for fall-through-spring gardens. They're wonderful for borders, containers, and adding cheerful color wherever the garden needs a little lift.

Best in: Full sun to part sun.

Primrose

A bright spot in the winter garden

Primroses offer vibrant clusters of flowers in an impressive range of colors. They brighten shady corners and containers during the cooler months, often putting on their best show from winter into early spring.

Best in: Part shade.

Snapdragon

Tall, colorful blooms with personality

Snapdragons bring height and playful spikes of flowers to beds and containers. Available in a wide range of colors, they're especially happy in cool weather and can provide beautiful blooms through much of the season.

Best in: Full sun.

Stock

Beautiful blooms with a lovely fragrance

Stock is a favorite for its clusters of soft, romantic flowers and wonderfully sweet, spicy fragrance. It's especially lovely planted near patios, pathways, and entryways where you can enjoy its scent.

Best in: Full sun to part sun.

Sweet Alyssum

Tiny flowers, big charm

Don't let its small flowers fool you. Sweet Alyssum creates a soft carpet of delicate blooms with a light, honey-like fragrance. It's perfect for edging garden beds, spilling over containers, or filling spaces between larger plants.

Best in: Full sun to part sun.

Violas

Little flowers with lots of personality

Smaller than pansies but just as colorful, violas are wonderfully cheerful and often bloom generously during cool weather. Tuck them into containers, borders, and garden beds for delightful pops of color.

Best in: Full sun to part sun.

Calendula

A little sunshine for cooler days

With bright yellow and orange, daisy-like blooms, calendula brings a welcome splash of sunshine to the cool-season garden. It's easy to grow and especially happy during the mild temperatures of fall, winter, and spring.

Best in: Full sun.

A Few Tips for Lasting Color

Plant in fall. Getting plants established while temperatures are mild gives them a great start before winter arrives.

Mix and match. Combine taller flowers like Snapdragons and Stock with lower-growing favorites like Pansies, Violas, and Sweet Alyssum for a layered, colorful display.

Give them the right light. Choose plants suited to your garden's sun or shade conditions for healthier growth and better blooms.

Keep them looking their best. Remove spent flowers, water as needed, and feed appropriately to encourage healthy growth and continued flowering.

Keep the Color Coming!

From cheerful pansies to fragrant stock and colorful ornamental kale, there's no reason to put your garden to bed for winter.

Visit your neighborhood SummerWinds Nursery to discover seasonal favorites and create a garden that keeps giving you something beautiful to enjoy from fall into spring.

Plant selection and availability vary by location and throughout the season.