Take Your Garden to the Next Level — with Your Deck

As you plan your fall planting, don’t forget your deck. Here are just a few ways to enjoy outdoor living spaces and put your green thumb to good use.

Decorate Your Deck

Add window boxes to your railings for beautiful fall potted plants such as chrysanthemums. Check your zone to determine other hardy container plants for fall and winter. A few favorites include goldenrod, stonecrop/sedum, toad lily, helenium and pansies.

When you’re watering the plants on your deck, you’ll be glad you’ve protected the wood that holds up your deck with Trex Protect. Trex Protect is a non-skid, self-adhesive deck flashing tape that is designed to shield the tops of joists, rim joists, beams and ledger board from moisture that can lead to the development of rot and wood decay.

Plan Ahead

Fall is also the perfect time to plan ahead for spring. If you have flowerbeds around your deck, be sure to put in your spring bulbs now. Consider these bulb favorites from Better Homes & Gardens: daffodils, tulips, hyacinth and crocus.

The cooler weather and more frequent showers also make it a good time to plant perennials and trees around your deck, without constant watering. Just be sure to plant well before the first hard frost of the season.

Fall Fun

You might also like to add other fall touches such as hay bales, scarecrows found at most craft stores, and pumpkins. In fact, with the cooler weather, it’s the perfect time to invite friends over for a pumpkin-carving party. Heat some apple cider, toast some marshmallows over the firepit and tell a few ghost stories.

Another way to enjoy the outdoors all year long is to create an enclosed space under your two-story deck. With a drainage system like Trex RainEscape, you can create a dry, usable space that includes an outdoor fireplace, entertainment center or kitchen.