Once the days start getting shorter, nights turn cooler, and wreaths and pumpkins adorn every yard, you just know autumn has arrived!
What’s even more alluring about this season is the spectacular foliage from trees that change color, such as dogwoods, maples, and oaks. These trees shed their leaves to conserve energy for the cool, dark days, something that makes autumn one of the most visually stunning seasons.
A tree is an investment that offers long-term beauty, shade, privacy, and food and shelter for wildlife. Before purchasing a tree, consider its mature height and width to avoid challenges that come with maintenance down the road.
If your yard lacks autumn color, the following deciduous trees might be the missing piece to a landscape filled with an explosion of fiery hues.
Take a look!
1. Add Extra Movement with Grass
Fall is the perfect time for your Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra) to truly shine. Better yet, pair them with fall trees for a beautiful, autumn display.
Here, a red-leaf Japanese maple (Acer palmatum var. atropurpureum) contrasts nicely with the grass. A silver birch (Betula pendula) near the fountain displays not only beautiful yellow leaves but also a fascinating peeling bark.
2. Impress with a Japanese Maple
Numerous Japanese maple tree varieties show colorful leaves in autumn, as well as during other seasons. It’s actually one of the plants that makes frequent appearances in my own yard!
The tree’s finely lobed leaves are particularly attractive from a close distance, and they can add gorgeous texture as well.
3. Warm Up the Yard with a European Beech Tree
Beech trees boast beautiful yellow-golden leaves in autumn, and they also offer edible nuts! These trees hold their leaves for a considerable period of time than other autumn trees, which change color later in the season.
The European beech tree (Fagus sylvatica) featured here also has an attractive gray bark that adds winter interest. These trees reach a mature height of 20 – 80 ft., depending on the variety.
4. Charm with a Persian Ironwood Tree
The Persian ironwood tree (Parrotia persica) featured here boasts terrific spring interest on account of the leaves and flowers it bears, which turn into vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow.
The tree’s smooth, mottled bark also peels to reveal patches of brown, gray, and green, adding year-round visual interest.
5. Make a Statement
Having one or two autumn trees in your landscape is great, but a multitude of them is even better! Here, colorful trees, including Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), and purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera) bring spectacular fall color, ranging from blue, orange, yellow, purple, and crimson.
Cedars and junipers form a green backdrop that enables the colorful trees to stand out more while adding to the beauty of the autumn color.
6. Provide Some Shade
An oak tree is excellent for adding shade to your compound. Oaks are drought-tolerant, incredibly adaptable, and can withstand urban conditions like pollution. Also, they support numerous moth and butterfly caterpillars, which are good bird feed.
A small sugar maple tree under the oak tree makes a stunning autumn statement with gorgeous yellow and orange end-of-season leaves.
7. Contrast with Your Trees
Maples are probably the most famed autumn trees in North America. Various maple tree varieties display magnificent orange, red, yellow, or burgundy autumn colors, with the color of an individual tree sometimes varying from year to year.
Here, a sugar maple and red maple create a picture-perfect scene with their bright, contrasting hues.
Fun fact: Some tourists travel hundreds of miles to destinations like the White Mountains of New Hampshire just to witness these trees’ spectacular autumn foliage displays!
8. Bring a Grand Feel with a Sugar Maple Tree
Sugar maples boast reliable yellow autumn color, but they’re especially desired for the sap they produce.
The sap can be tapped and boiled to create sweet maple syrup. They grow fast, adding 3 or more feet each year.
9. Keep it Simple
Autumn trees don’t have to dominate your landscape to make a statement. A row of boxwood shrubs creates stately specimens throughout this landscape, while small maple trees take center stage in the background.
A stone flower pot with ornamental kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) and pansies(Viola tricolor var. hortensis) offers a unique combination of foliage color and plant form.
10. Match with the Architecture
Maples are famed for their twigs, fruit, and color of their flowers. Consider using these trees to reinforce your outdoor color scheme. Here, a Japanese maple tree complements the brown shutters and trim for a cohesive look.
A sugar maple adds bright autumn color with its yellow leaves. Give these trees enough room to spread their roots.
11. Brighten Up the Facade
During spring and summer, the leaves of the Japanese maple are green, but they turn into this incredible reddish-orange during autumn.
The tree stands out against this white farmhouse facade, adding a stately feel to the aged elements.
12. Uplift Your Backyard Fireplace
The colorful autumn foliage of the Fremont cottonwood tree (Populus fremontii) has a tendency to tremble in the breeze, which is as famous as its golden-yellow hue.
The fallen leaves form a lush yellow carpet, while a small cypress tree brings in contrasting green color.
13. Create a Raised Bed Around Your Trees
Create a raised paver bed around your maple trees to add a visually interesting feature in your landscape.
A raised bed not only improves the aesthetic appeal but also improves the soil, helps with weed control, and makes gardening easier.
14. Keep it Low
This sugar maple showcases a vivid mix of orange, yellow, and red foliage. The tree stays on the smaller side, with its elegant form making it a striking focal point in the yard.
15. Complement Outdoor Natural Features
During spring, redbuds boast gorgeous clusters of sweet-pea-like lavender-pink flowers, which appear before the leaves. Their heart-shaped leaves turn to pale yellow in autumn, and they’re nothing short of striking.
Here, an Eastern redbud tree (Cercis canadensis) offers a beautiful array of yellow and red-pink foliage while complementing the rustic stone wall.
16. Add some Greenery Color
Autumn planting isn’t only for colorful, vivid trees. Scale-leaved or needled evergreens like pine trees bring lasting color to the winter landscape, on top of providing food and shelter to a variety of wildlife.
Consider planting your pine trees during fall to enable them to focus their energy on root development—most of leaf growth has usually slowed for the year. The plants will embellish your yard with a flush of new growth come spring!
17. Reinforce with Flowers
Rows of chrysanthemums with vibrant yellow, red, and pink foliage are bordered by ornamental cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. acephala f. tricolor) and arborvitae for a carefully curated autumn display.
A maple tree in the background and pyracantha berries in the stone flower pot frame the arrangement with attractive orange color.
18. Maximize on Texture
A pair of staghorn sumac trees (Rhus typhina) provide bright orange and red color. This non-poisonous tree reaches 10 to 15 feet tall, is easy to grow, and offers splendid autumn foliage, making it an excellent landscape tree.
Furthermore, staghorn sumacs can be used as windbreakers, for erosion control, and even culinary purposes. A laceleaf Japanese maple tree (Acer palmatum subsp. matsumurae) and a verbena shrub (Verbena bonariensis) add to the spectacular fall color.
19. Hide the Facade
Maple trees are truly the winners when it comes to autumn color. The sugar maple and red maple featured here offer unparalleled hues of yellow and red.
20. Bring In Bushes
Choosing the correct plants and trees is integral to your autumn’s garden beauty and interest.
Here, the gold Japanese forest grass is an excellent foil for rudbeckia seedheads, fiery maples, and dark ruby umbels of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Hylotelephium spectabile ‘Autumn Joy’).
21. Try a Minimalist Approach
The Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ featured here puts on full display the rich, vibrant hues of autumn. Acer trees have a spectacular seasonal transformation, shifting from green to deep reds, fiery oranges, and golden yellows, truly stealing the show.
The trees are also a favorite among garden designers for their countless subspecies suited to various conditions and versatility, making them a timeless addition to any garden.
22. Focus on a Small Area
It’s no surprise there are other maple trees on this list, thanks to their incredible fall color! They combine with evergreens here to create a great autumn landscape.
23. Maintain the Tree Color
Several maple, oak, and birch varieties engulf this rustic log cabin with bright autumn foliage in warm shades of orange and yellow.
24. Utilize a Sloping Landscape
Native to North America, red oak trees are usually planted for ornamental value due to their fall foliage, and often grow on slopes.
The Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) featured here can reach up to 70 ft. in height and width and tolerates most common tree challenges, such as air pollution and drought. It’s also a food source for birds, deer, and squirrels.
25. Embellish the Entryway
Crape myrtle trees (Lagerstroemia indica) have great autumn color and mildew resistance.
Here, they flank the home entrance’s front steps, adding much-needed interest to the neutral façade.
