I plant dianthus and chysanthemums in the Fall and they winter-over nicely. My daughter manages to get snapdragons to winter-over in zone 7B. You can also keep impatiens and coleus going if you bring them indoors.
-Nan

Why only annuals? Isn't there a fall blooming perennial that you might consider?

I guess I always think of annuals as 'quick and easy'. But I would be open to perrenials too. This is all new to me.

I know ornamental cabbage and kale or so ubiquitous as to be considered below some gardeners but with the incredible variety and color available now I think that they just can't be beat for winter and fall interest. They go great with pansies too! Check a real nursery for the best variety rather than the box stores. Theresa.

Too funny limhyl- I just planted some ornamental kale seeds yesterday because I love seeing them when Autumn arrives! Hopefully they'll actually grow from seed.
-Nan

There's a new (to me, anyway) Carex that is bronze, which I think would look terrific with some of the russet colored pansies. Carex flagellifera and Carex coumans are both bronze and remain so year round. Of course, all ornamental grasses come into their glory in Fall.

Solidago is a wonderful yellow fall-bloomer. Some day I'd like to try the cultivar 'Fireworks' but it needs enough room because it gets 3' tall and wide.

There are several very lovely fall-blooming Chrysanthemums, such as 'Pink Sheffield' and 'Apricot'. The early Autumn bloomers often have a lax habit and 2 to 3" blooms. When the weather finally begins to cool, the button mums begin blooming. 'Mei Kyo' is a bright pink, and 'Bronze Elegance' is coppery. Both look terrific with Asters like 'Purple Dome'.

Although common, Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is a treat for me because of the way it changes from the broccoli heads of Summer into the dusty pink of late Summer and finally the rusty brown of Fall and Winter. It looks very good with the seedheads of ornamental grasses such as Pennisetum.

Chinese Plumbago, Ceratostigma willmottianum, has bright blue small flowers on a shrubby 2' tall plant whose leaves turn red before falling, and it prefers poor, dry soil.

Salvia leucantha (Mexican bush sage) bursts into bloom in Fall, and of course Dahlias will still be blooming until frost. Ivy-leaved Cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium) has pink flowers in Fall and will grow in dry shade, amazingly enough.

The orange-red berries of Pyracantha are outstanding in Fall, but best kept well away from the usually pink and rose flowers of Camellia sasanqua, a glorious Fall bloomer.

I was going to mention the Autumn Joy sedum, and also the sweet autumn clematis. Both are just beautiful in October, and you don't have to keep planting them, they come back year after year. There are others too, I just can't think of them right now. LOL

There are many varieties of aster if you are willing to go perennial. (annuals are easy but then you have to replace them every year unless they reseed well). Also japanese asters, but you need to give them space as they colonize quickly. -Ais.

Part of me wants to do annual because I am thinking about 2 containers that I like to keep planted (they were used in our wedding). They are 'urn like' concrete planters and they are what I have my petunias in right now.

When I think of fall and my gardens, I think about sedums - preferably Autumn Joy, but I do like Frosty Morn sedums also. They can stand the heat, drought and are generally bug resistant. Plant them with mums, solidago, fall asters and you can't go wrong. Carrie

When you say something for Fall, do you also mean Winter? You didn't mention the size of your urns, but if they're large enough, you could grow Nandina domestica 'Firepower' in them for the Winter and plant the shrubs in the garden come Spring. 'Firepower' is the one that turns crimson in Winter. Ivy would be a nice trailer. I discovered several years ago that although it's a shade plant, Ivy grows in full sun during Winter. You could add some Bergenias with their largish, rounded leaves, and some cultivars have leaves that turn mahogany red in Winter. If your urns are in a sunny spot, the Bergenias would have to join the Ivy in a shady spot when Spring comes.

One October, I visited the Botanical Gardens in Atlanta, and they had stunning specimens of Acanthus growing in large pots. Here's a photo of the cultivar called 'Summer Beauty':

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Excuse me... I misread your initial posting. I thought you were asking what to plant in the garden in the fall. You want a winter flower (like pansies) for color and my answer was for color in the garden - lasting only until beginning of winter. Sorry - Good luck - Carrie

Vaiegated red-twig dogwood (Cornus alba 'Elagantissima'). It is a beauty all season with cool-feeling green and milky white leaves - then bright red trunks and branches thru winter. Salvia greggii will bloom until first ice (not frost).

'Summer Beauty' planted in the ground is nearing it's end for me. I wonder if the warm winter made it bloom early or if they forced it to bloom late. For containers I agree that annuals are best since they bloom longer and acheive their max potential in one year. Out of the container for winter interest I love red-twigged dogwoods. I know it's just me, but pansies don't do it for me in fall and winter. They seem artificial somehow. Mums planted in the garden are fine but somehow every porch has to have them in the fall, right next to the pumpkin and (preferably) on a bale of hay. The $3 grocery store mums are way overdone. The perennial ones are much more natural and attractive to me. -Ais.

I guess I was thinking Fall and Winter. My only experience is Pansies and they seem to weather well with the occasional ice storm that we get here.

Harmony,
Just an Idea! How about filling your pots with this combination of three layers: Dusty Miller, Ornamental Cabbage or Kale in the center for height. Ringing around them with Pansies, Dianthus, or Snap Dragon for flower color. Circleing the flowers with English/Boston Ivy or Varigated Vinca Vine for trailing to the ground. You get height, color, and depth from the combination.
The vine you can transplant in the ground as a ground cover in the spring or use over again for your Spring/Summer pot plan. I often experiment with potted arrangements. Happy Planting and Planning...........Dianne