Seasonal Styling

Quietly Haunted

Four Halloween planter ideas for a tasteful porch

There is a version of Halloween that whispers rather than shouts. It lives in deep plum blooms, black foliage and pale pumpkins, and it starts with the planters at your door.

These four looks pair seasonal plants with a few considered details. Each one is built on a planter made to stay outside season after season, and each carries easily into November once the props come down.

The Moody Mum

Fairfield Trough

Rich burgundy and black, with one unexpected detail.

What you’ll need

Planter: Fairfield Trough in black
Plants: 5–7 burgundy chrysanthemums, 2–3 black heuchera, purple fountain grass or dark willow branches for height, creeping Jenny to trail
Details: 4 skeleton-hand stakes, a dark floral wreath, small pumpkins at the base

How to style it

Set the height first: grasses or branches along the back of the trough.
Fill the middle with mums, tucking heuchera between them for contrast.
Let creeping Jenny spill over the front edge, then add the skeleton hands last, angled slightly outward.

Make it last. Mums and heuchera handle cool nights well. Remove spent blooms to keep the planter tidy into November.

The Web

Modesto Collection

A layered grouping with a little drama, kept in check by a tight palette.

What you’ll need

Planters: Modesto Collection in black, 3–5 planters in varying heights
Plants: Boston fern, heuchera in plum and silver, English ivy, coleus, one bold-leaved focal plant such as croton or rubber plant, Spanish moss
Details: black spiderweb trellises, pale woven spiders, a little stretched cobweb, white pumpkins

How to style it

Group planters in odd numbers, tallest at the back.
Push trellises into the soil behind the tallest planters before you plant.
Set the focal plant, layer heuchera and coleus around it, and let ivy trail over the edge.
Add spiders and cobweb sparingly. A few go further than many.

Make it last. Fern, croton and coleus are tender. Treat them as one-season accents, or bring them indoors before the first hard frost. Heuchera and ivy can stay.

The Quiet Ghost

Solace in Chai

Soft, pale and nearly maintenance-free.

What you’ll need

Planters: Solace in Chai, a pair framing the door
Fill: dried cotton stems, preserved black eucalyptus, olive or evergreen branches for height
Details: cheesecloth, white pumpkins with painted ghost faces, a wooden crate, a lantern

How to style it

Fill the planter with soil or sand so dried stems stand firmly.
Place the branches first, then cotton and eucalyptus in loose clusters.
Drape cheesecloth over one side and let it fall naturally.
Paint simple ghost faces on white pumpkins with black acrylic.

Make it last. A dried arrangement needs no watering. Remove the cheesecloth and the cotton and eucalyptus carry well past the 31st.

The Welcome Bowl

Evolve Bowl

Where the evening actually happens: the top step.

What you’ll need

Planters: Evolve Bowl, plus one tall black planter
Fill: wrapped treats in the bowl; curly willow or birch branches in the tall planter
Details: black lanterns, heirloom pumpkins in green, cream and orange, a twig wreath, one crow

How to style it

Set the bowl on the top step, where the porch light falls.
Cluster pumpkins in odd numbers across the steps.
Use flameless candles in lanterns, especially near dried stems or fabric.

Make it last. The Evolve Collection is made in Canada from 100% post-consumer polypropylene, a reusable choice at a time of year that leans toward single use. Once the treats are gone, plant it with ornamental cabbage, kale or evergreen cuttings for late fall.

After the 31st

Pull the props and keep the plants. Swap skeleton hands for birch branches, trade cheesecloth for evergreen boughs, and replace painted pumpkins with plain ones. A well-built planter is the constant. Only the details change.

Mayne planters are designed in Canada and made to last, with up to a 15-year residential warranty.

Shop Planters

Back to The Mayne Guide

First Frost