Happy Monday, garden enthusiasts and community members, as we kick off another week of horticultural inspiration with the Garden Photo of the Day series. Today, our journey takes us to the Garden State of New Jersey, where talented garden designers Ellen Goldfarb and Tracy Buttrick have been turning heads with their exceptional seasonal container arrangements. As the weather cools and homeowners look for ways to maintain vibrant outdoor spaces through the transition from late summer to autumn, Goldfarb and Buttrick have shared a marvelous collection of bespoke seasonal arrangements created for residences throughout the local area. There is an abundance of artistic vision and botanical creativity to enjoy in their work, offering plenty of ideas for anyone looking to elevate their outdoor decor as the leaves begin to turn.
To begin this seasonal showcase, we are turning our attention to four distinct designs crafted by Tracy Buttrick, who masterfully demonstrates just how much breathtaking color, dynamic texture, and visual depth can be packed into a single pot—even when planting space is severely limited. These expertly curated arrangements are bursting with creative concepts that are well worth borrowing, adapting, and scaling for our own front entrances and porch displays as autumn settles in. Let us take a closer look at the stunning compositions she has brought to life for New Jersey homeowners this season.
The first design featured in the collection is one of a striking pair of pots strategically placed to flank the front door on a spacious, welcoming porch of a traditional white home. Because the striking architecture of the house features a clean, bright white exterior, Buttrick intentionally designed the containers to showcase an explosion of rich, saturated color that would stand out sharply against the neutral backdrop. At the towering top of this arrangement sits purple fountain grass, botanically known as Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’, which is hardy in Zones 8 through 11 and provides a sweeping, dark burgundy architectural element. Intermingled with the grass are unique balloon plant seedpods (Gomphocarpus physocarpus, Zones 8–10), broom corn (Sorghum bicolor, annual), and great millet (Sorghum bicolor, annual), which together add incredible height and structural interest. To inject vibrant pops of color and whimsical shapes, Buttrick incorporated ‘Intenz’ celosia (Celosia argentea ‘Intenz’, annual), charming pumpkins-on-a-stick (Solanum aethiopicum, annual), eye-catching ornamental peppers (Capsicum annuum cvs., annual), classic garden mums (Chrysanthemum × morifolium cvs., Zones 5–9), and tightly ruffled ornamental cabbage (Brassica oleracea cvs., annual).
Moving along the porch, a second square planter highlights an entirely different yet equally compelling palette of textures and warm autumn hues. For this container, Buttrick selected a foundational mix of broom corn and ‘Jade Princess’ ornamental millet (Pennisetum glaucum ‘Jade Princess’, annual) to establish height and graceful movement. Filling out the body of the arrangement are crested celosia (Celosia argentea var. cristata, annual), vibrant ‘Durango Red’ French marigolds (Tagetes patula ‘Durango Red’, annual), playful pumpkins-on-a-stick, traditional mums, and textural ornamental peppers. To soften the edges and bridge the gap between the taller structural elements and the rim of the container, she added ‘Concertina Pink’ celosia (Celosia argentea ‘Concertina Pink’, annual) alongside the delicate, cloud-like blooms of Snow Princess sweet alyssum (Lobularia ‘Inlbusnopr’, annual), creating a rich tapestry of autumn tones that feels both sophisticated and festive.
A third design proves that working with unique container shapes and restricted planting areas does not mean sacrificing visual impact. Although the gray round planter used here appears robust and expansive from a distance, it actually possesses a surprisingly small interior planting area, presenting a unique horticultural challenge that Buttrick navigated with skill. To maximize the restricted space, she utilized purple fountain grass for height, combined once more with the whimsical look of pumpkins-on-a-stick. For bold bursts of intense color and texture, the arrangement features ‘Dragon’s Breath’ celosia (Celosia argentea ‘Dragon’s Breath’, annual), texturally striking ornamental kale (Brassica oleracea cvs., annual), and ‘Twisted Dark Orange’ celosia (Celosia argentea ‘Twisted Dark Orange’, annual). These warm, fiery tones are beautifully balanced by the inclusion of hardy heather (Calluna vulgaris, Zones 4–8) and a delicate spilling collar of Snow Princess sweet alyssum, which softens the heavy rim of the gray pot.
The final container in this initial showcase demonstrates how thoughtful composition can overcome spatial limitations even at the micro scale. Positioned gracefully at the base of the porch steps, a matching smaller round pot presented a similar set of design hurdles, boasting an internal opening of just eight inches. To compensate for the narrow footprint and still achieve a sense of presence, Buttrick cleverly incorporated branches to give necessary height, vertical line, and body to the overall design. The botanical lineup for this petite powerhouse includes yellow winterberry (Ilex verticillata, Zones 3–9) for structural height, interspersed with pumpkins-on-a-stick, ‘Intenz’ celosia, ornamental kale, ornamental peppers, ‘Concertina Red’ celosia (Celosia argentea ‘Concertina Red’, annual), hardy heather, and the deep, rich tones of ‘Violet Knight’ sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima ‘Violet Knight’, annual).
We extend our sincere thanks to Ellen Goldfarb and Tracy Buttrick for sharing these magnificent, highly inspiring fall containers with our gardening community. Stay tuned, as we will be featuring more of their brilliant landscape and container designs throughout the week for our readers to enjoy.
For readers who wish to participate in our ongoing community features, the Garden Photo of the Day team is always looking to showcase the hard work, creativity, and passion of everyday gardeners. If you have photographs you would like to share, we would love to see your personal garden, a particular collection of cherished plants, or a wonderful public or private garden you had the opportunity to visit during your travels. Submissions can be made easily by filling out the official Garden Photo of the Day Submission Form online, or by emailing five to ten high-resolution photos directly to our editorial team along with background information about the plants featured and the location where the pictures were captured. We love learning about where our readers are located, how many years they have cultivated their green thumbs, the gardening successes they are most proud of, the valuable lessons learned from past failures, future hopes for their plots, favorite plant varieties, or even humorous anecdotes from their time spent out in the dirt. To ensure you never miss an installment of our daily gardening inspiration, be sure to sign up for our email newsletter.
As gardeners continually seek out expert literature to refine their craft, several recommended titles offer invaluable guidance on resilient landscape design and garden management. Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes, authored by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West, explores the concept of a new, hybrid nature that bridges the gap between the wild and the cultivated, offering practical advice for nourishing resilient plant communities in urban and suburban environments. For those looking to keep meticulous track of their seasonal plantings, the Gardener’s Log Book from the New York Botanical Garden provides a sturdy, weatherproof five-year format equipped with a waterproof cover, lined pages, gridded paper for plotting out garden beds, and twelve-month bloom and harvest grids to record what was grown and when. Additionally, the log book features authoritative appendices covering essential horticultural practices such as composting, pruning, pest and disease control, and container gardening, alongside seasonal reminders for fertilizing, mulching, and transplanting. Finally, Buffalo-Style Gardens: Create a Quirky, One-of-a-Kind Private Garden with Eye-Catching Designs by Joseph Tychonievich showcases the wildly inventive, offbeat gardens and passionate gardeners of Buffalo, New York, while delivering some of the best design ideas for gardeners working with small spaces.
