Also consider using other rustic containers such as a crate, wooden keg, wicker basket, wagon or wheelbarrow. They all look great with seasonal flowers spilling from them.

Visit your local nursery now and you'll find a wide assortment of great late bloomers, including both annuals and perennials. The trick is to select ones that can take a light frost, so that anything you plant now will last for an extended period. If you use perennials, they can be removed from the container and planted in the ground even as late as Thanksgiving.

Some of the best seasonal flowers for containers include mums and asters. They're bright and cheerful and bloom for many weeks. Buy plants that are still tightly in bud - with just a few flowers open - to get the longest display. Other late-blooming perennial beauties include goldenrod, hardy hibiscus, gaillardia, balloon flower, hummingbird mint, ornamental grasses and autumn sedum. The best annuals include colorful (but inedible) ornamental peppers, black-eyed Susans and ornamental kale. The kales come in pretty shades of pale blue, purple and pink, often with frilled leaves and contrasting veining. To me, they're as pretty as any flower.

Consider planting up a pair of baskets to flank your front door. The flowers and foliage will last for up to two months as long as you keep them well-watered. Also pay attention to deadheading spent flowers. As the weather cools down, your bright baskets will serve as a warm welcome to your guests.

Plants shown in this segment are courtesy of Tagawa Gardens.