A Little Halloween Decor

Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title. -ScoobyDoo

Walking around the neighbourhood as a child, I can distinctly remember the excitement and anticipation of finding a house with the most haunted aesthetic appeal. Ignoring the "undressed and boring" neighbours, I would climb the steps in a frantic fury, hoping the candy was as good as the proposal.

Maybe this is why, as a student still living at home, I beg my mom to take part in the festivities of Halloween, hoping she'll turn our home into the dream of every costume-wearing child roaming the streets on October 31st.

**Remember- the first thing that attracts the costumers on Halloween night is the front yard and garden of your home!

Halloween Ideas for your Garden

1. Transform you haven into a graveyard (if only for a couple weeks). An important thing to remember is that halloween is ALL about lighting and a whimsical touch.

note: leaving the garden un-tended for a good month can give your future "graveyard" an even eerier look with long, unkept grass and fallen leaves.

Tombstones can be purchased at your local wal-marts, grocery stores, and even some garden centers. Caution tape, spider webs, skeletons, and shovels can add suspense and allure to your gravesite.

2. Pumpkin carving can prove to be a very easy and traditional way to attract witches, gouhls, goblins and ghosts! Picking your pumpkin is a very important part in achieving your jack-o-lantern look. You need to choose a pumpkin that will suite what you want to carve on it. Pick pumpkins that are uniformly orange (which indicates that it is ripe), as well as pumpkins which have no bruising or visible damage (bruised pumpkins have a shortened life span).

**Make sure when transporting your pumpkin that you do NOT hold it by the stem because it can easily break.

3. Halloween Wreaths (using vines from the garden!)

Using a thick, tightly wound grapevine is a perferable and cheap way to spread halloween cheer! Just wind the vines into a hoop shape and tie it off with a twine. However, grapevines are not the only vine that is useful for halloween wreaths. Bittersweet vines can also be used for halloween wreaths, providing great yellow/orange colour and an attractive peice for your front door.

4. Pumpkin-and-mum arrangement

Items needed:
Large pumpkin
Mum in nursery pot
Disposable cloths or paper towels
Petroleum jelly
Carving items for pumpkin such as a kitchen knife, jar lid or ice pick

Steps:
Place the base of the nursery pot over the pumpkin and gently score the edges of the pumpkin to mark the width of the mum pot. Cut out the top of the pumpkin using the scored edges from the width of the mum pot, discarding the cap and the stem of the pumpkin. Scoop out the insides of the pumpkin. (Note: You may wish to save the seeds to toast later.) Using the ice pick, poke four holes into the base of pumpkin. This will allow for water drainage. Gently dry the interior of pumpkin using a cloth or a paper towel. Next, spread a coating of petroleum jelly over the interior of pumpkin. This will help to keep the pumpkin from drying out and decaying quickly. Insert mum into pumpkin and keep mum moist (drying out is the kiss of death to mums).

Hope you use some of these ideas to create the eerie, festive halloween garden for those who roam your front doorstep!