Halloween is upon us, and it's not only Frankenstein's monster whose fingers are green!
It's easy to create a spooky scene with flora and fauna, from twisted stems and berries that look like eyes to moving houseplants.
For those who want more scary additions to a Halloween scene than just a carved pumpkin lantern, here are some plants to display for Halloween:
For the garden:
1. Dead man’s fingers (Decaisnea fargesii)
Leave the bean pods on this shrub and they turn a startling shade of blue just in time for Halloween, hanging eerily from the branches of this pea plant relative. And you probably won’t want to eat the pods or their seeds, which are surrounded by an unappetising gelatinous pulp filled with small black seeds.
2. Eryngium giganteum
There are varieties of this thistle-like specimen which are aptly named ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghost’ and ‘Silver Ghost’, thanks to its spiky, spooky silver bracts around a conical seedhead that bleaches in tone around Halloween. It stands out at dusk and in the moonlight, as a skeleton-like specimen. It also dries well so you might want to bring it indoors to add to an eerie display.
3. Pyracantha ‘Orange glow’
The spikes on this vigorous, bushy shrub will not only deter unwanted visitors, but the bright orange berries on glossy bright green leaves also create a Halloween hue to any garden. It’s easy to grow in sun or partial shade, and it comes back year after year with those eye-popping berries.
For indoors:
1. Air plant
These weird plants that don’t need soil to survive hang down like strands of hair from shelves, giving a cobweb-like effect and making the hairs stand up on the back of your neck if you brush past them.
2. Touch-me-not plant (Mimosa pudica)
Touch the feathery leaves of this sensitive plant and they will fold up, which is their way of dissuading anyone to touch them. It is believed that the plant, which is native to Central and South America, uses this as a defence mechanism against being eaten by herbivores.
4. Snake plant (sansevieria)
Upright, spiky and definitely uninviting, snake plants remain a popular addition to homes because they are pretty difficult to kill. It comes in many different guises, in variegating colours with sword-like leaves, and although they may look a bit grisly, in fact, they filter airborne toxins from your home.
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