It’s spooky season and time to break out the pumpkin spice! With the ghoulish happenings around the corner, it’s the perfect time to learn how to create a haunted garden space.
Here we’re sharing the top trendy picks as well as the classics to show just how fun and easy it is to create a truly fantastic Halloween garden display that all the neighborhood will be jealous of! From decor to DIY and even some spooky plants, we’ve got your haunted garden covered.
How to Create The Ultimate Haunted Garden
Jack-o-Lanterns
An obvious Halloween choice, but you cannot go wrong with jack-o-lanterns as a decor piece both for the garden as well as indoors.
Keep your decor interesting by purchasing multiple sizes and placing them in groupings in your garden beds. Or, if you’re extra creative, cut, carve, and style your own pumpkins this year!
Sounds like too much work? Don’t worry! Good thing you can purchase these ready-to-go battery-powered jack-o-lanterns that will add a certain je ne sais quoi to your haunted garden.
Spooky Scary Skeletons
What would a haunted garden be without spooky skeletons? There’s so much you can do with a few prop skeletons.
Have them sitting in your garden chairs, have one scaling your trellis, or maybe one watching over your fall and winter crops. The possibilities are endless.
Fluttering Bats
Bats tend to give people the heebie-jeebies. Really creep out the neighbors with these giant 3D bat figures. The best part is you can add them anywhere for the perfect spooky effect.
Hanging Lights
We’re not talking about the orange and purple mini bulbs that burn out in one season. (We are way too grown for that.) Instead, give your garden the glow-up it deserves by adding in some bistro lighting. Make Halloween classy and save the colorful aspects for your other decor.
Big O’l Creeping Spiders
There’s something about spiders that makes us want to jump out of our skin. But these giant spiders add just the right touch to your haunted garden. Just because you see a ton of cheesy decor doesn’t mean that’s all that’s out there.
Keep your home classy while giving it that spooky Halloween charm.
Black Crows
Adding black crows around your haunted garden gives it that eerie vibe Halloween is all about. Add them to planters or peeking around bushes. Crows are very sneaky creatures, so add them into the most inconspicuous of spaces for a natural spooky feel.
Real Pumpkins
If it’s fall, you know it’s time for you to head over to the pumpkin patch. While you’re there, make sure to pick out some pumpkins to add to your haunted garden space this year.
It’s ok to go pumpkin crazy. Add them to planters where your annual flowers were over the summer, create spooky walkways, and layer them throughout garden beds.
The best thing about pumpkins is no matter where you place them, they look so good.
Creepy Vintage Finds
Nothing says haunted gardens like squeaking, rusted gates, broken down, weathered doors, and rusted-up bikes lying about. Why not bring the sense of creepy into your haunted garden with some eerie finds?
If you’re looking to be extra trendy this spooky season, look for the vintage blow molds of pumpkins and ghosts. It adds a sense of nostalgia that warms all our spooky hearts.
DIY And Homemade Halloween Garland
You don’t need to spend a fortune to make your haunted garden spectacular. There are so many DIY ideas and beautifully already-made spooky garlands to add a bit of spice to your Halloween decor.
Hanging Ghosts
If you have a lot of trees in your haunted garden, it’s the perfect opportunity for hanging ghosts. This adds just the right amount of spookiness, all while being super easy to do and can blend right into any other fall decor, so once the spooky season is over, you can transition your garden into an autumn oasis.
Set The Mood With a Fog Machine
You can’t set the perfect haunted garden scene without a fog machine. Get the perfect spooky vibe with all the above decorations during the day, and at night transform it into a haunted foggy garden.
Trust us. You’ll be the house to visit on Halloween with your new fog machine! The kids and neighbors are sure to be talking.
Must-Have Plants for a Haunted Garden
Nature also gets into spooky season with these gorgeous plants. In fact, some only do well in cooler temperatures. What could be better for your haunted garden than some eerily beautiful plants?
Dark And Orange Colored Mums
Garden mums are a fall staple all over the country and honestly, they make the season so much more beautiful.
Enhance your front porch or place dark and orange-colored mums where your summer annuals were placed for that pop of color.
Dress up your mums with creepy crawling spiders and fake cobwebs for that extra little bit of fun.
Black Petunias
Although petunias are a summer annual in most places, they will thrive into the fall months.
These black petunias will add just the right amount of spooky vibe to your haunted garden without going overboard.
Black Pansies
Pansies can be a bit finicky regarding temperature, so you’ll usually only see them during spring months.
But when fall comes creeping around the corner, so do some cooler temperatures letting these gorgeous black pansies thrive in your haunted garden.
Black Calla Lily
Calla lilies are a garden staple for any gardener. As long as they are placed in the right spot, they thrive all season long.
Did you know you can get black calla lilies online? These flowers are somewhat rare, but if you can find them, they look like the perfect flower for Morticia Addams.
Mosses
In almost every horror flick with a haunted cemetery, you’ll see old, cracked, crooked headstones covered in different mosses.
Add some of these mosses tucked into rock crevices around your garden for that horror movie feel. While you’re at it, add some creepy fake headstones to set off the vibe this season.
Extra Spooky Ideas
Spice Up Your Walkways or Driveways
Create a spooky haunted garden walkway using pumpkins, vintage finds, and outdoor candles. You can even create pathways to candy bowls for Halloween trick-or-treaters.
Paving out your driveways or walkways adds a Pinterest feel to your haunted decor.
Haunted Garden Shed
I bet you didn’t notice you had the perfect haunted house in your very own backyard already, did you? All summer long, your home’s garden shed has been collecting authentic spider webs all summer long for this exact moment.
All jokes aside, dress up the shed to mimic a haunted house! Add some hanging lights, pumpkins, more fake cobwebs, crows, spiders, and more. Use it to pass out candy or to enjoy while relaxing in the chilly fall weather.
Don’t Have a Lawn or Garden Space?
Spooky Wreaths and Doormats
Is your haunted garden limited to your small porch or entryway? Not to worry. Adding creepy wreaths and adorably punny Halloween doormats, you don’t need a large space to get the haunted vibes flowing.
Artificial Pumpkins and Florals
Just because you have a small space doesn’t mean you cannot get into the spooky spirit. Add in artificial pumpkins and floral decorations that don’t cause such a mess.
Mini Haunted Graveyard
This is the perfect way to dress up your small space without skipping on the haunted Halloween vibes.
Try layering your decor among beautiful garden mums, pumpkins, spooky skeletons, and more!
Have Even Less Space?
Small areas appreciate a haunted makeover as well. Look at these amazing Halloween door-decorating ideas!
Now Get Out There and Create Your Haunted Garden!
There are so many things you can do to create your personal haunted garden. Regardless of the space you have to work with, you can get pretty creative.
Now you need a place to go find your pumpkin! Here we have a list of all the best pumpkin patches all over the US, so you’ll be ready once the spooky season is in full swing. Don’t forget to dress the part and get some of those Instagram-worthy photos in while you’re at it!
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Lauren has three main passions: her family, writing, and gardening! Lauren has spent countless hours in her garden tending to different plants, whether those be beautiful flowers, vegetables, or different perennials.
Rest assured that if it concerns plants and gardens, Lauren has got you covered. So, when needing advice or looking for the best new gardening gadget, you have come to the right place and the right author.