One fall morning, I was leading a therapeutic horticulture session (with one goal in mind: connect my people with a sensory activation to elevate their mental health) when a participant asked me:

“What fall flower colors can I buy to help me through my depression?”

I knew, right then and there, I wanted to help people discover this answer for the rest of my life.

I was new to therapeutic horticulture at the time, so I didn’t have a “flowers for mental health” list on hand that could show what flower colors or types correlated to their sensory activity needs. 

All I had was a list of beautiful cut flower varieties to grow for a lovely fall flower arrangement.

But, through conversation and using the nuggets I had from horticultural therapy education and cut flower farming… we narrowed down a few flowers to enjoy.

Now, it’s a mission of mine to create and continue updating plant-people wellness lists so I have them on hand when the need arises – like on that autumn day.

So, in case you too, are wondering what colorful fall flowers you can add to your porch for a mental health boost, this sensory activity list is for you!

REAL QUICK: Why were are these flowers selected?

Because I am always looking through my therapeutic horticulture lens, the fall flowers listed are picked by therapeutic elements FIRST and then weighed in on environment, maintenance, and accessibility.

Therapeutic Elements

• Sensory Stimulation

It’s all about the senses here (sight, touch, taste, sound, and smell). 

Therapeutic horticulture uses sensory activities as a self-soothing tool to help us self-regulate. 

When our emotions, mind, and body are overwhelmed…it’s hard to engage our higher level brain to help regulate. 

So, sensory activity strategies aim to kick-start your system by starting at your lower brain first and working up to the higher brain for regulation. 

The fall flowers listed below use sensory elements to stimulate cognition and emotions to assist in moving through depression and mental health heaviness.

They focus on two senses to stimulate your mind and emotions: SIGHT (visual) and TOUCH (tactile). Bright, vibrant colors aim to energize and motivate. Whereas, the texture of plants will activate and promote excitement.

• Safety

It’s important to interact with non-toxic plants when you’re engaging in TH sensory activities and sessions for your mental health. So, the fall flowers below make the safe plant list! If you have sensitivity issues with touch, please use caution before interacting with any plant (only you know what your sensitivities are).

Accessibility & Maintenance

The fall flowers are also chosen due to popularity at local nurseries during the fall season (we are zone 7b). These are all very low maintenance flowers.

Environment

The fabulous fall flowers below are suitable for porch containers and partial shade. 

3 Fall Flowers to Boost Your Mental Health

For Porches with Partial Shade

• Sensory activity – SIGHT:  They come in a variety of colors. Choose pink, red, and yellow to elevate your alertness.
• Sensory activity – TOUCH: Feel the flower petals. What flower shape are the petals? Are they a single layer of petals or a double layer of petals? Which do you prefer?
• Plant Care: They make great plants to place around the edge of your containers with other flowers in the middle. Prune them (when the color fades and grows 3 inches high) to prevent leggy plants. These also can be taken indoors as house plants once frost temperatures hit.

For Porches with Sun

Sunpatiens – (fall flower annual)

• Sensory activity – SIGHT: Choose these colors to stimulate your senses – pink, purple, orange, red, and coral.  Which colors are your favorite?  When you look at your sunpatiens, notice where in your body do you feel warm.
• Sensory activity – TOUCH: Feel the leaves by rubbing a leaf between your fingers, how does it feel?
• Plant Care: When planting them in a container, water them everyday for the first two weeks. Avoid watering overhead and water at the base of the plant.

Geranium – (fall flower perennial)

• Sensory activity – SIGHT: Notice the colors on your geraniums. What other things in your life have the same colors? Food? Animals? Nature?
• Sensory activity – TOUCH:  Brush your hands over the flowers and leaves.  This alerts the plant and can wake you up too.
• Plant Care: To promote healthy growth and blooms, deadhead the spent flowers. Snap the stem below a conjunction of where new growth begins. When temperatures drop, you can bring the plant indoors.

Marigolds – (fall flower annual)

• Sensory activity – SIGHT:  They come in vibrant orange and yellow colors that symbolize energy and light. Notice the orbs of energy sitting among the green leaves. Where in your body do you feel the same energy?
• Plant Care: For healthy and continued growth, deadhead spent blooms. You can simply pinch off the flowers where the bloom meets the stem. The smell deters pests and are a great companion for other flowers in a container.

I hope you enjoy interacting with these in combo with sensory activity ideas for your mental health!

Whatever you are going through, I know you can grow through it.

Keep going & growing,

Chelsea 🌸💚

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