A Late-Summer Pink & Green Garden That Carries Into Fall

White vinca, pink zinnia, and vining Butterfly Pea

If you’ve seen this planter combo on our feed, you’ve probably asked: “How do I get that?” Good news: it’s a simple formula, it’s full-sun tough, and it’s built to bloom straight through a Houston summer with a few easy additions to carry it right into fall.

The Plant List

Zinnias — Grown from seed, in that classic bubblegum pink. These are the stars of the show and the reason you’ll want a vase on your kitchen counter all season.

Vinca (periwinkle), white — Our go-to Houston workhorse. Heat, humidity, drought, it doesn’t care. It just blooms.

Herbs, tucked in alongside the flowers (hence the little “Herbs” marker) — Because pretty and useful can share a planter.

Butterfly pea vine (Clitoria ternatea) — Climbing the black arch. It has a delicate, sweet-pea-like look but is actually its own vining plant, prized for its true-blue blooms against all that pink and green.

Okra — Planted as a vertical accent as much as a crop. It’s shooting up tall this year and doing double duty as a pollinator magnet.

Fall tomatoes (Sungold) — A favorite for a reason. For a fall crop, stick to small varieties like Sungold so they can size up and ripen quickly before the first frost.

Jalapeños — Another easy fall performer, tucked in among the flowers for a steady harvest. Texas summers run long, so fall is really a second full growing season here — not just a wind-down.

The Care Recipe

Light: Full sun. Every plant on this list wants it.

Fertilizer: Microlife pellets worked into the soil for a steady organic feed, plus Microlife’s liquid Maximum Blooms formula (the pink bottle) for an extra boost during peak flowering.

Maintenance: Cut the zinnias daily. Cutting for vases isn’t just a bonus, it’s what keeps them pumping out new blooms instead of going to seed.

Why It Works

The formula is simple: one workhorse filler (vinca) that never quits, one cutting flower (zinnias) that rewards you for harvesting it, a vertical layer (the vine on the arch) to soften hard lines, and a little edible/useful layer (herbs, okra, fall tomatoes, and jalapeños) mixed right in. Full sun, organic feeding, and daily deadheading do the rest.

Copy the formula, swap in your own colors if pink isn’t your thing — but if it is, you already know exactly what to plant.