Repurposed Blog Post: Halloween Front Porch Plantings

Originally published in InRegister Magazine, October 2025. Republished with permission.

Halloween is the perfect excuse to turn your front porch into a spooky, stylish showcase with plants that deliver maximum impact for minimum effort. In South Louisiana, October weather is finally cooperating, so let’s lean into dark, dramatic, and downright eerie foliage and flowers.

Go bold with black and purple

• Black Mondo Grass – inky blades that look like spider legs
• Purple Fountain Grass – blood-red plumes
• Black Pearl Ornamental Pepper – glossy black foliage + purple-black fruit
• Coleus ‘Black Dragon’ or ‘Dark Star’ – deep burgundy to near-black leaves
• Viola ‘Blackout’ or ‘Black Magic’ – true black pansies that look like bat wings

Add the creep factor

• Air plants hung upside-down in macramé (they look like jellyfish)
• Snake plants in tall black urns (instant Medusa vibe)
• Raven ZZ plant – glossy almost-black leaves that scream haunted mansion

Flowers that scream Halloween

• Orange and black violas
• Marigolds in fiery orange (classic Día de los Muertos vibe)
• Celosia ‘Dracula’ (yes, it exists) – blood-red brain-like flowers
• Dark purple petunias trailing from hay bales

Quick porch recipe

1. Tall black urns with snake plants or purple fountain grass
2. Hay bales wrapped in orange lights
3. Pumpkins (real or faux) tucked among black mondo grass and coleus
4. Hanging air plants or black-painted gourds from the ceiling
5. Finish with orange marigolds and black pansies in window boxes

The best part? Almost everything above thrives in our fall weather and can stay gorgeous straight through Thanksgiving with a quick refresh.

Happy Halloween—may your porch be spooky and your plants be scary beautiful.

Ready for a Spooky (or Stunning) Front Porch?

Want a custom fall container design or a full seasonal plan that transitions from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas? I’d love to help. Book a consultation or grab a Rouses Horticulture gift card for the gardener in your life at RousesHorticulture.com or follow @rousehorticulture for more ideas!