Outfitting an antique iron urn with a life size Halloween sculpture of the wicked witch of the west was my client’s idea. I think she is as wild about Halloween as her kids; she has a whimsically good spirit about her. So why not? Lauren, who is young enough to be able to locate and shop on line with lightening speed, found me a a posable standing aluminum mannekin covered in foam, with a polyester stretch knit covering. This figure was just waiting for an identity. The adjustable aluminum pole enabled us to set the height of the sculpture properly in the urn. The base plate went into the urn, and was stablilized with granite setts piled over top of it.
Her vehicle was fashioned from a sharpened hickory fence pole, to which we attached black plastic grass; voila, a a suitably creepy broomstick. The gearshift knob is a stick ball, which I loaded with threads of industrial strength hot melt glue. For all the world it looks like she just flew through an industrial strength spider web. Or perhaps she has pet spiders that like go everywhere with her.
Apparently you can buy Halloween costumes in adult sizes. The outfit came complete with a suitably pointy hat with a tulle band, and the most fabulous pair of witchy shoes with flared heels and buckles. The striped socks and dirty chartreuse garden gloves came from Lauren. This girl is dressed to kill.
Her face is ghoulishly green perfection. We mechanically fastened the mask to the head of the mannequin; any part of the sculpture going askew as a result of our unpredictable October weather would not be good. One ping pong ball split in two is the basis for the eyes. They bulge out of the vinyl eye sockets in a terrifying way; Lauren painted on the chartreuse eyeballs, and exploded capillaries. Warty pumpkins and gourds cover the base plate. The decapitated fabric dolls-some with mini-pumpkin heads, are an especially gruesome touch.
A few finishing touches to the surrounding landscape, and our witch was ready for Halloween. This yard is decked out in spectacular anticipation of Halloween night. The whole process of the installation stopped traffic; lots of people like the fun that is Halloween. 
Her hemp fiber hairdo befits her; hemp stuffed into her hat makes the most of that pointed shape. Though I have not devoted too much time here to the construction, I chose all of the materials to start with the idea that rain and wind would not disturb them. Of course we had both the day after the installation. That polyester outfit shed the water, the tulle hat band held with water droplets to good effect. She has been flying across the yard for the better part of three weeks-looking good.
The night sky changes the appearance of everything. As is evident in the above picture taken last night, there will be a prominent moon tomorrow; I am always appreciative whenever nature cooperates.
The night light makes her appear all the more scary and threatening. Uplighting is the most garish and unattractive light possible in a landscape; this is working to great advantage here.
Scardy cats, beware!
The centerpiece of my vignette-a straw scarecrow. He is not very scary-the crows are perched all over him. The clothes and boots were contributed from the lot of us; the face got painted on a pillowcase. His hat-some left over erosion mat from a hydroseeding job on a slope. He is one hundred percent straw stuffed-as he should be. The corn shocks add height, and set our fall figure down-he looks pleased to be settled in where he is. A hedge of gazanias knits everything together.
Though I was surprised to hear from this client that Halloween was one of her family’s most important holidays, she had good reasons. A sister living in Brazil came to visit every Halloween. The family spent Christmas week skiing, away from home. Last but not least, she has a slew of kids. She had boxes of Halloween props-we used them all. A large antique English stone urn took the insult rather well, I thought. Bamboo dyed black, and a stick stack of decidedly unnatural color provided perches for three ravens. Green millet and orange integrifolia clashed noisily. The giant spiders -they were creepy to look at in broad daylight.
We would put up the Halloween decorations the beginning of October. For this reason, the use of wood props and plastic carved pumpkins seemed like a good idea. Though I am not a big fan of mums, these bushel basket grown plants add big splashes of color. The skull lights along the walk are a favorite of the kids.
Though the scarecrow witch seemed sweet and benign, those spiders create an unmistakeable mood. We managed to find a spot for every bat, skull and skeleton in my client’s collection. At Halloween, more is always better.
The side porch columns get dressed up in broomcorn, sticks and whatever else is available at market, all of which is held in place with zip ties covered in giant raffia bows. The corn gets zipped on in three layers, from top to bottom. Each new layer covers the construction materials of the preceding layer. I have also dressed tree trunks in similar outfits.
The side porch door gets the most family traffic in and out, so we give it the full treatment. All of the carved pumpkins are lit from the inside. Good and spooky night lighting is a key element.
Though I plant plenty for the fall season, the kids for whom the music is not too loud have the right idea. Trolling for treats in costume on a dark, windy and ghostly night – peopled by the spirits of the dead and doomed; terror-ific. This client called to say her kids were making fun of her-could she not loosen up, and get a little ghastly? We gave it a whirl. I did tell her the kids needed to supply me with their gruesome best in the way of props.
The fruits of the late season are beautiful; their thick skins coloring up speak to the finish of a summer’s worth of serious growing. The broomcorn, the bare branches on the trees, the hubbard squash-all of this speaks to a season coming to a close. The rust red sedum is one of the latest blooming perennials. If you want to represent the season, do lots; we piled the pumpkins up everywhere. 
A porch pillar is encircled with broomcorn, and corseted with dried peeled willow sticks. I picked gourds with astonishing shapes, and the Hubbard squash too big for anyone else to haul home. Is it not astonishing how heavy the squashes are? Every pumpkin and gourd is chosen for its spook factor. Spider webs of hemp fibers complement the lacy shapes of the kale. One of the best things about pumpkins from the market is the stems that are left intact.
