Halloween is around the corner- which means pumpkin picking, costumes and gardening? Halloween is meant for fun and dressing up in costumes. Everyone’s houses are skillfully decorated as well, so why not decorate your garden? This is a follow-up list to our last post about black plants for October. You can read that here.
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October is here, which means its time to gather those pumpkins and carve them! One downfall of carving pumpkins, is timing. It’s the constant worry that ‘Maybe I’m carving them too early.’ or ‘I really hope these last to halloween.’ You can carve a sprightly Jack-O-Latern but in a week or two you can have a decrepit ghoul sitting on your porch. There are a few factors to why pumpkins age like they do after being carved. Oxygen in the air can easily enter and break down the pumpkin through oxidation, Once you carve the pumpkin it is susceptible to fungi, bacteria and mold which can shorten the life and simple dehydration sets in as soon as you make the first carving. Here are some steps you can do that will extend your carved pumpkins life.
Happy Carving!
Thank you to Pumpkin Patches and More for the original information. You can read more here.
Once the month of October arrives, it is time to get festive. Cozy Sweaters, Hot Drinks, and Halloween! Carved Pumpkins sitting on the porch, and ghosts hanging in the window. Your yard would be incomplete without a little decoration in the garden also. Here is a list of black plants to give your garden a pop- or lack of a pop of color.
Black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’) – This grass does well when planted in full sun or part shade. It grows roughly a foot tall and wide, and is great for ground coverage.
Coral bells (Heuchera ‘Obsidian’) – This plant can tolerate full sun and part shade. For the best results plant in a sunny area with some afternoon shade. It grows about 1 to 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide.
Orange and black pansies (Viola x wittrockiana)
– This plant does well in full sun to partial shade. It will bloom in the fall and then once again in the spring. It grows to about 6 to 8 inches with about the same size spread.
Black snakeroot (Cimicifuga ramosa ‘James Compton’) -This plant grows best in full sun for the deepest color. It grows to about 3 feet tall with a spread of 2 feet. It’s flowers will bloom in autumn.
Black rose (Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’) – This plant thrives in full sun to partial shade. It can grow up to 10 inches tall and wide in the shape of a rosette.