Scary Gardens: Help With Spooky Garden Designs
Nothing speaks Halloween like scary gardens. Within these plots, you may find unpleasant themes and all that is deemed spooky. In spite of their gloom and doom appearances though, these dark, spooky garden designs deserve a rightful place in the landscape. Read on to learn more.
Creepy Garden Info
Okay, so Halloween only comes around one time a year, but even so you can keep the spirit of this festive holiday alive all year long by creating scary gardens using plants that conjure up creepy thoughts and spooky feelings. In addition to plants, there are a number of Halloween decorations or spooktacular accessories that can be added throughout the garden to make it as creepy as you want it.
Spooky Garden Designs
You may not know it, but you likely already have suitable plants for scary gardens, as many common garden plants are surrounded by rich superstitious history and miscellaneous uses in the garden. In fact, a number of herbs fit the bill and were often associated with witches-- as anyone using herbs was once accused of. Some of these popular plants include:
Not scary enough for you? You can also go with a traditional Halloween color theme using orange and black plants, or just go with a monochromatic black, purple, or dark colored scheme. Gothic gardens are ideal for this. You can find dark colored plants among the common garden flowers too. You may even have them growing already. If not, scour plant/seed catalogs for black, dark purple, or deep maroon varieties. Color isn't the only way to add some spookiness to your garden. Creepy garden plants with names like bloodroot, bleeding heart, blood grass, and blood lily abound. Other frightful plants include:
- Snapdragon
- Voodoo lily
- Love lies bleeding
- Lungwort
- Ox-eye sunflower
- Scaredy cat plant
- Spiderwort
- Deadnettle
The list goes on and on.
How to Decorate a Scary Garden
Don't forget to accessorize your creepy garden. For instance, votive candles can be placed inside small jars or glasses and set on saucers adorned with colorful leaves, Spanish moss, or cobwebs. These charming, lanterns can be used as attractive/macabre centerpieces for tables or scatter them throughout the garden. Pumpkins and ornamental gourds are an absolute must for decorating a spooky Halloween garden. Create a variety of scary jack-o'-lanterns and spread them throughout the garden. Don't forget to light them up after dark for an ominous effect. Gather bales of hay and place them in the garden too. Additionally, throw in a few stone gargoyles or notable Halloween characters such as witches, vampires, skeletons and the like. You can even throw in some ghostly green lighting once it turns dark. What you deem scary should work just fine. It's your garden palette and you're the artist. The main thing is to use your imagination!
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Nikki Tilley has been gardening for nearly three decades. The former Senior Editor and Archivist of Gardening Know How, Nikki has also authored six gardening books.
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