Design Happens

I’m always drawn to the unusual and offbeat in the gardening world, so Halloween presents the perfect opportunity to highlight any spookiness in the garden. Of course I’ll have the usual orange, relatively round pumpkins on our deck and scary gargoyles tucked into the potted cuphea, but I also love the looks of the slightly-less-ordinary, like this peanut pumpkin:

Decaisnea fargesii is sort of creepy — the clusters of twisted blue bean pods give the plant its common name, dead man’s fingers. The bat plant doesn’t bloom in October, but it’s the perfect (though sometimes temperamental) conversation piece in the summer:

Black foliage (actually, very dark purple or brown) is pretty easy to find in the plant world. During the growing season black mondo grass and other dark plants serve as a perfect foil for the many types of chartreuse shrubs and annuals.

Plants like Sedum Dragon’s Blood don’t look all that scary, but a name tag may do the trick. It’s all about suggestion: Only at this time of year can I look at crested celosia, and think, wow that looks a brain:

Read more about Creepy Halloween Gardens then tell us what’s spooky about your yard. We’d love to see pictures, too: upload them at Rate My Space.