Fall-inspired container gardens are a fun and easy way to add color to your space. Get started today and enjoy a festive display for months to come!

We’re huge fans of container gardens. A few of the many reasons we love them: 1. They’re quick and easy to create; 2. They’re a fun way to make the most of your space and celebrate the changing seasons. From rustic red grasses to deep blue succulents, the colder months bring some exciting new container garden options. These plant combinations will add a much needed splash of fall color to your front porch, balcony, or deck. Check out some of our favorite container gardens and fall planting tips from the garden experts at Sunset magazine.

Sunset’s ”Eight Fall Container Gardens” features so many unique plant combinations. Our favorite: Touch of Bronze (pictured). Touch of Bronze features three different plants:

Pieris ‘Forest Flame’: Fiery red new leaves fade to pink, then turn dark green when mature. This shrub prefers part-shade and can reach 10 feet tall.
Dryopteris erythrosora: The hardy wood fern’s feathery new growth blends copper, pink, and gold tones that turn rust-colored in the fall. It grows 2 feet tall.
‘Little John’ azalea: Bronzy leaves make this azalea, which can reach 6 feet tall, a choice focal point.

Ready to get started? Check out our favorite fall planting tips and you’ll be good to go:

Small is smarter: Buy little plants (in 4-inch nursery pots); they’re less expensive, easier to handle, and will catch up to the larger ones with winter rains. Smaller plants are your best bet if you need multiples to fill out a bed.
Check plant tags: Find out how big the plants will grow, and whether they need sun or shade. Then choose plants that will thrive in the spot you have in mind for them.
Consider compost: Buy bagged compost to add to the soil before planting. Avoid bagged compost that looks as though it has been piled and stored in hot sun for months—it won’t do much for your soil.
Soak ’em: Water plants still in their nursery containers with a hose before planting.

To kick off our “Rubbing Elbows” resident event series, David from Habitat Horticulture, the creator of our living wall, stopped by Bay Meadows this weekend to share some of his vertical gardening tips & tricks. Our residents had a great time meeting new neighbors and learning more about our 86-foot long living wall. And special thanks to Whole Foods Market San Mateo and Peet’s for the tasty treats!

Everyone knows it takes a village to raise great kids. Bay Meadows welcomes San Mateo parents to our village for some family-friendly shenanigans. Join the Bay Meadows community at Paddock Park for everything under the sun – live music, puppet shows, crafts – the events change monthly. Every Monday from 3-5pm, make your escape to the great outdoors with other parents of kids from all around the city.

What: A Whole Lotta Family-Friendly Fun
Where: Paddock Park, Bay Meadows (Baze Road @ Derby Ave)
When: Every Monday from 3-5pm
Who: San Mateo Parents
Sponsored by our friends at Whole Foods San Mateo and Urbansitter.com

A look at November:
Nov. 4th – Magic, Juggling, and Music with Daffy Dave
Nov 11th – Sunshine Acres Petting Zoo
Nov 18th – Thanksgiving Art w/ Para La Russa
Nov 25th- No Event, Enjoy Thanksgiving with your families!

Never been to Paddock Park?
A family oriented park, the 1.5-acre Paddock Park is well-positioned in the heart of the Bay Meadows community. The park is centered by a picnic and BBQ area, half basketball court and paved plaza that separates the large tot playground from the sprawling open lawn. The playground is fenced and gated, and features age specific play equipment on a safety surface, as well as a sand area and water-play environment. The grass lawn is ideal for family recreation and lawn sports. With plenty of shade trees throughout the park, residents will have the option to enjoy the sun or relax under the shelter of a tree. Both the tot-lot and the open grass lawn are surrounded by hearty and interesting planters, creating a handsome buffer between the primary use areas and the street. As well, generous plantings of a variety of trees serve to buffer the park from the street and an allée of cherry trees runs along the residential edge.

We like playing tag.
Share with us! Catch a great moment at Paddock Park? Use #BayMeadowsLife or tag us to share! Your image may be featured at our community. For the latest news and updates from Bay Meadows, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. If you haven’t received a copy of Color Your World, the Bay Meadows coloring book illustrated by Susie Ghahremani, stop by our Welcome Center and introduce yourself to Concierge Stephanie.

Model homes opening in the second quarter of 2013. First move-ins in the third quarter of 2013.
Home construction at Bay Meadows is well underway! TRI Pointe Homes began work on Amelia, a 63-townhome neighborhood, in July 2012, and we expect the neighborhood to be complete by December 2013. TRI Pointe received their building permit on October 5th and will commence construction on their model building this month. The first model homes are expected to open in quarter two of 2013. Landsdowne, the 93-townhome unit enclave by Shea Homes, is close behind. Vertical construction is expected to begin this November; models will also open in the second quarter of 2013.

Here’s a look at what else we’ve been up to since our last update:
• Miscellaneous street improvements and planting continue throughout the site
• Street trees, cobbles, and some street furnishings are being installed on completed streets
• Construction of the 12-acre Bay Meadows Park has started and should be completed in December 2012
• Work on Paddock Park has also begun and will be completed in early 2013

What’s Next
Phase 1
Landscaping and surface improvements 5/12-8/12

Phase 2
Landscaping and surface improvements 6/12-12/12

Parks
Bay Meadows Park and Paddock Park 7/12-1/13

Phase 3
Grading and underground utilities 6/12-6/13
First lift of street paving 6/13
Surface improvements and landscaping 1/13-6/13

Neighborhood Construction
Amelia (TRI Pointe Homes) 7/12-12/13
Landsdowne (Shea Homes) 8/12-9/14

Click here for more on Bay Meadows’ construction progress, and stay informed with regular construction updates from Life in Motion!

Time for the first post of “Bay Meadows Bios”, a new blog series that will introduce you to the many faces of Bay Meadows. For this month’s bio, get to know Project Manager Kim Havens!

Tell us about your work at Bay Meadows. What does your typical day look like?
There are no typical days. Every day brings a variety of work which includes such things as interfacing with our merchant builders, processing plans with the great City of San Mateo staff, reviewing marketing material and working on our next land sale.

What interested you in the Bay Meadows project?
Bay Meadows is the best piece of infill land on a train station midway between San Francisco and San Jose at the intersection of 101 and 92. The size of Bay Meadows gives us the opportunity to make a new neighborhood for San Mateo that includes lots of parks and open space, diverse homes, a new retail street and beautiful office buildings. Executing a project that is so complex and important is exciting and challenging.

What is your most treasured possession?
Other than my family, it would be the Miguel Osuna paintings that I own. He’s a Mexican-American artist whom my husband and I met in downtown L.A. many years ago. His landscape paintings capture the incredible infrastructure and light of southern California.

Describe your perfect Sunday afternoon.
Hanging out on a West Marin beach with my family.

What is your favorite animal?
A Bernese Mountain Dog.

If you were in the “Miss America” talent competition, what would your talent be?
Dance