In the Upstate, we have a Spring & Summer season, followed by a Fall & Winter season. Our Fall & Winter Season typically begins early September. The plants purchased in this season are expected to last till April, when Spring Annuals are available again.
Pansies
Pansies are a staple of Southern gardens, blooming through fall, winter, and early spring to provide essential color in cooler months. Even after winter storms, they remain viable, with their blooms bouncing back once the ice and snow melt. Their ability to thrive in cold weather makes them a reliable choice for seasonal landscapes, adding bright, cheerful color when most other flowers have faded.
At Martin Garden Center, we grow and sell thousands of pansies each year, offering a wide range of colors and varieties. Our 4″ trailing pansies are grown in-house, while upright pansies come in 4-packs and flats sourced from trusted vendors. Popular varieties include Delta, Matrix, Majestic Giant, and more, ensuring customers have plenty of options for their gardens, containers, and hanging baskets.
We keep our pansy tables stocked with over 200 flats from September through early November, then reduce to around 80 flats through mid-February to early March. While upright pansies are great for landscaping and container gardens, trailing pansies are best suited for baskets and planters. Due to high demand, our 4″ trailing pansies often sell out by December, so early shopping is recommended.
Violas
Violas are a must-have for Southern winter gardens, blooming from fall through early spring and thriving even after occasional snow and ice. Their resilience makes them a reliable choice for brightening up the landscape during the colder months. With their dense, colorful display and ability to withstand winter weather, violas add long-lasting beauty to garden beds and containers.
At Martin Garden Center, we sell thousands of viola flats each year, offering a wide selection in 4-packs and flats sourced from trusted vendors. Popular series include Colormax, Penny, and Sorbet, along with many other specialty varieties. Violas’ smaller but abundant blooms create a vibrant carpet of color, making them ideal for mass plantings or adding texture to mixed containers.
We keep over 200 flats of violas in stock from September through early November, then reduce to around 80 flats through mid-February to early March. While upright violas are perfect for landscaping and containers, they are less common in hanging baskets than trailing pansies. Their compact, floriferous nature makes them a favorite for gardeners looking for reliable winter color that lasts through the season.
Snapdragons
For height and texture, Snapdragons are always good. We carry Snaps in flats and 4-packs. The varieties we see include the small Snaptini series, Snapshot and Speedy Sonnet series, and the tall Rocket Series. Snaps provide fall and early winter color, but they may or may not last through the winter depending on the weather. If they die back to the ground in the winter, they often come back in the Spring.
Mums
Mums provide a pop of fall color. We grow 8″ mums and we also import them from our vendors. We also purchase 4″ mums from our vendors, but their availability is limited, and we won’t have all colors at all times. Mums in 10″ pots and hanging baskets are also available for a short time frame from our vendors.
The Mums we sell are perennial garden mums, but most customers use our 8″ mums as drop ins for a quick color fix near Halloween. We try to have 3 + full tables of 8″ mums of every color available from September through October, but we often sell out before Halloween. By early November, our mums are usually bloomed out.
Pumpkins & Gourds
During September and October, we also carry a wide selection of accompanying pumpkins and gourds to help with fall decorating. The key to pumpkin longevity is to keep them out of the sun. We try to keep the white Baby Boo and the Jack-B-Little orange varieties available with a wide assortment of gourds. Some of the larger heirloom and other varieties that we carry include Cinderella, White Boer, Casper, Porcelain Doll, Fairytale, Jarradale, Long Island Cheese, Marina Di Chioggia, One Too Many, Peanut and the most popular Warty Golblin.
Ornamental Vegetables
At Martin Garden Center, we sell thousands of Ornamental Cabbages & Kales in the fall, and these include varieties we grow, and varieties offered through our vendors. We try to have 3+ full tables of 4″ and 6 full tables of 8″ available until December, when our Christmas season begins.
We take great pride in growing enormous ornamental veggies and the most popular varieties are sold out before the season ends. Note also that most ornamental veggies do not begin to color up until the weather drops below freezing, but after the cool weather begins, the colors are amazing. After the weather cools, the best plants have usually been purchased. Buy early and don’t worry about the color, because if you wait for the plants to color up, all the good ones will be gone.
Ornamental Grasses
Another facet of the fall/winter season is the use of Ornamental Grasses. These are perennial evergreen grasses including Juncus (rush) grass Blue Arrow, Blue Dart, Twister and Spiralis and combinations of the same. Additionally, the yellow Japanese Sweet Flag (Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’) is extremely popular. In the fall and winter seasons, these grasses look beautiful in mixed containers. In the spring, they should be moved to a part sun location because the extreme heat in the South may distress them causing browning at the tips.
