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Getting the garden ready for Halloween may not be that much of a tradition in your home, but there are so many Halloween garden ideas that are sure to change your mind! Finding ways to decorate and enjoy your garden throughout the Halloween season is perfect for small gatherings, large parties, or even for your family to enjoy the spookiest day of the year with plenty of fun and style. So, we’ve gathered six easy Halloween garden ideas for you to try this October to put your guests straight in the spooky mood.
Decorate Your Property
Although we aren’t known for going all out with decorations for Halloween in the UK, why not give it a shot this year? Just like decorating for Christmas, putting together a display for the spooky season is one of the best ways to get in the right mood to celebrate Halloween, whether you’re hosting a party or planning to scare some trick or treaters. Plus, decorating your home and garden is a great family-friendly activity! Kids will love coming up with some imaginative decoration ideas to make your garden perfect for the spookiest night of the year.
Some of our favourite decorations for Halloween garden ideas are:
- Pumpkins – They aren’t a Halloween classic for nothing! Both adults and kids can find joy in carving some classic Jack-o-Lanterns to lighten up your porch over Halloween. Of course, pumpkins also open up the door for unlimited creativity. Let your children’s imaginations run wild when carving their pumpkins – just make sure they watch their fingers!
- DIY Cobwebs – Cobwebs are another traditional Halloween decoration, although you may want to keep the spiders away if you are arachnophobic. To create some simple cobweb decorations, stretch out cotton wool balls and glue them together to form larger webs. This is one of the easiest DIY Halloween garden ideas since you can stretch these fake cobwebs anywhere around your garden!
- Candles and Lanterns – There are plenty of Halloween-themed candles and lanterns that will light up your garden with a satisfying amount of spookiness! Of course, if you’re feeling crafty, you could always try to make your own spooky lanterns from paper bags or even old jam jars.
- Halloween Wreath – Christmas wreaths hanging on doors are a favoured decoration throughout the festive season. But, the trend is catching on! Halloween wreaths are becoming popular around the UK, and they’re super easy to create yourself.
- Fake Body Parts – This is undoubtedly one of the creepier Halloween decoration ideas, but it’s perfect for an outdoor Halloween gathering. Burying fake body parts or skeleton bones in your garden to make them look like they are crawling out of the ground is perfect for the spooky season and so easy to do!
Of course, there are so many more Halloween garden decorations that you could try! So let your imagination run wild and see what spooky decorating ideas your family can come up with.
Enjoy your Halloween decorations to the max throughout the season by trying al fresco dining with one of our outdoor dining sets.
Create A Pumpkin Lantern
Of course, if you have small children, carving a pumpkin may be implausible. But that doesn’t mean they have to miss out on the fun! If you don’t want your child carving a complicated pumpkin, help them create a simple pumpkin lantern instead.
To make a kid-friendly pumpkin lantern, you only need a small pumpkin, some sturdy wire and enough time to supervise. Here’s how to go about making a pumpkin lantern:
- First, you’ll have to cut a hole around the stem large enough for your kids to reach through.
- Then, they can go through the fun bit of scooping out all the guts inside.
- Once the pumpkin’s clear, you’ll have to step in! For a successful pumpkin lantern, you’ll have to cut several holes about the size of a pound coin around the surface of the pumpkin. You could do this with a knife, but, for speed’s sake, you could use a drill for quick, well-measured holes.
- With your pumpkin lantern created, help your kids attach the length of sturdy wire to the pumpkin through two of the holes on opposite sides of the pumpkin. This will be the handle for your lantern.
- Finally, place a candle inside the pumpkin and help your kids hang their spooky lantern.
Go Bat Watching
Bats are much more than just a scary element of Halloween. These flying mammals are fascinating creatures, and there’s no better time to watch them than in October. There are currently 18 species of bats in the UK[i], which are more common than you might think. If you want to go bat-watching, you are likely to find them:
- Near or over ponds, lakes or canals
- At the edge of woodland and wooded areas
- Around sheltered glades
Of course, you may be able to start bat watching in your own back garden. Attracting bats to your garden isn’t too tricky, and the benefits they bring may surprise you. Plus, kids will love helping to set up a bat-friendly garden and learning more about these fantastic animals.
Try Apple Bobbing
Apple bobbing is a classic Halloween game, but do you know why? Well, this fun game became synonymous with Halloween after a Celtic festival that marked the end of the harvest season and the coming of winter, where the people offered apples to their Gods as a sacrifice. This festival fell on the last day of October, the same day that we now celebrate Halloween!
Apple bobbing is one of the most fun Halloween garden ideas since anyone can do it. All you’ll need to set it up is a bucket or tub filled with water and several apples. The aim of the game is to use your mouth to retrieve an apple from the bucket – no hands allowed! This traditional American game has undoubtedly gained traction around the UK in recent years, and if you haven’t tried it yet, we can’t recommend it more!
Scare Some Trick or Treaters
Trick or treating has been a Halloween tradition for years. However, it may surprise you to learn that it actually started right here in Britain. There are records of Celtics partaking in an activity similar to trick or treating as far back as the 16th century[ii]!
Although this tradition may not be something adults take part in, it doesn’t mean you have to be left out! After all, trick or treaters start by asking for a trick, don’t they?! Plenty of easy Halloween garden ideas can help you give trick or treaters a bit of fright, so they earn their treats this year.
Here are some of our favourite pranks for trick or treaters that you might want to try:
- Hide Skeletons – Pretending to have skeletons coming out of the ground is undoubtedly a fun decoration. Still, if you have a particularly dark garden, hiding skeletons in dark corners will definitely give trick or treaters a fright.
- Make Glow Bugs – Tie some glow sticks to a fishing line or thin string and spread them around your garden. When trick or treaters approach, you can pull on the line and warn them that the glow bugs are coming after them.
- Bring Your Garden Gnomes In On The Season – Garden gnomes are the perfect props for Halloween pranks! You could give them scary accessories and hide them around your garden. On the other hand, for a more adult theme, lay them down with empty alcohol bottles and perhaps even some fake vomit.
- Cling Film The Path – If you have a few trees or bushes guarding the path to your front door, stretch some cling film across them to block the way of incoming trick or treaters. Of course, you’ll have to make sure your garden remains rather dark for them not to spot it instantly!
Make A Pumpkin Planter
Why not make a pumpkin planter for a more adult pumpkin carving session? These easy DIY garden ideas add a touch of fun to your garden. Plus, they are the perfect addition to container gardens!
All you need for a DIY pumpkin planter is a good-sized pumpkin, some compost and seasonal plants of your choice. Once you have everything you need, follow these simple steps for an exciting addition to your garden:
- First, you’ll have to hollow out your pumpkin. Cut a wide hole in the top around the stem and remove all the innards from the pumpkin. Try to make the hole as wide as possible so you can fit your plants in! Then, cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin for drainage.
- Next, fill the pumpkin halfway with good-quality compost. Then, arrange your mix of seasonal plants in your planter. Fill in any gaps with more compost and water well to give your plants the best start.
- Finally, present your pumpkin planter! This unique planter looks great in container gardens and on porches throughout October. Alternatively, you could use it as an excellent centrepiece for seasonal dinners.
Halloween Garden Ideas For A Night To Remember
It feels like Halloween creeps up on us quicker each year, but don’t let it pass you by! Instead, try some of our Halloween garden ideas to make the festivities last. Whether you go for more adult seasonal pastimes, like making a pumpkin planter, or help your kids carve their pumpkins, we hope you enjoy your Halloween.
Do you have any fun Halloween garden ideas you think we should try? Let us know your traditions in the comments!
Sources
[i] https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/what-are-bats/uk-bats
[ii] https://www.halloweenangel.com/2016/10/when-trick-or-treating-begin.html
Anna is the marketing and office manager for Garden Benches – a premium supplier of high-quality wooden benches and other outdoor furniture.
