Halloween is right around the corner. Which means eerie décor, spine-chilling scares and ghoulish costumes stalking the streets. We love it! Especially when businesses get on board and use it as a way to bring some merriment and fun to the grey days and quickly drawing in nights. Even if your business doesn’t celebrate Halloween, the people inside it will, as will your neighbours in the community, so why not get involved! Here are a few ways you can get your grounds ready for Halloween, without sacrificing safety or professionalism.
Create an Easy to Maintain ‘Graveyard’
Nothing says Halloween like a grassy area turned-graveyard. Just remember that fake tombstones, cobwebs and other lawn decorations can look great, but they also make mowing, trimming and leaf collection more challenging. We’re not saying don’t do it! Just bear it in mind. Lightweight decorations are your best friend here, since they can be easily removed for maintenance, and they can be staked down to secure them against the wind, rain or unsuspecting visitors.
Mind the Monsters – Keep your Paths Clear
Haunted houses and walkways are fun, but cluttered pathways can be downright dangerous! With the nights drawing in, your guests and employees may well need to navigate your grounds in the dark, which is why it’s all the more important to keep your pathways clear. This means:
- Clearing leaves regularly, since wet leaves can be a major slip hazard.
- Making sure your paths are well lit
- Cleaning mossy paving slabs so that they don’t represent a slip hazard, especially in the dark
- Trimming hedges and low branches. Give monsters and mortals alike a clear view and make it easier to avoid low hanging obstacles.
Landscape for Atmosphere
If you want to get into the Halloween spirit but you don’t want to put up decorations, there are a few things you could do to creepify your landscape without the gore. For example, you could:
Plant chrysanthemums: Chrysanthemums are a fantastic autumn flower that bloom from September until November. They’re one of the oldest species of flower and come in virtually every colour of the rainbow. For Halloween, you can plant spooky colours like deep purple, blood red, orange, burgundy and more. You can even get them in multicolour! Bring your flowerbeds to life with a riot of haunted colours and let them set the atmosphere.
Let vines grow: Usually vines need to be carefully maintained, but at this time of year we say let them grow! A bit of untamed vine growth over fences or stone walls can add to the haunted vibe, and it’s easy enough to clear once spooky season is over. Don’t overdo it though – too much growth could create a safety hazard!
Install seasonal foliage: Make up some planters filled with spooky foliage and a few subtle decorations, pumpkins, leaf arches and maybe even some small straw bales around your grounds. This adds more of an ‘autumn’ aesthetic than a Halloween one, but it definitely gets people in the mood and doesn’t interfere with your regular grounds maintenance.
Anti-Spider Charms
Spiders are a pretty common symbol for Halloween, but you don’t want real ones crawling around leaving webs all over your high-usage areas! There is an old wives tale that conkers contain a specific chemical that spiders hate, and that if you leave conkers around your home, it will keep spiders away. In our research we couldn’t find any evidence of this being true, but if you’re not a fan of spiders, there’s no harm in putting a few conkers around the outside of your building – away from any walkways!
No Tricks – Safety First!
As a responsible business owner your first priority should be the safety of everyone on your premises. Since Halloween decorations often involve extension leads, inflatable decorations and lights, there is an element of risk involved. Mainly – trip and fire hazards. So before you set up your decorations, make sure that any electronics you’re using are rated to be outside, that all decorations are secured properly, and that they’re all kept out of high-traffic areas. Keep them to the sides, away from main walkways where possible. After all, you don’t want to add a real skeleton to your décor!
Of course, once the celebrations are over, it’s time to clear up and get back to normal before the frost hits. Or in our case, get ready for Christmas! That means taking your decorations down promptly (so they don’t get damaged, or become part of your landscape), check the grounds for signs of vandalism or litter, and rake up yet more leaves that have fallen! We’ll be honest, that last one is just a daily task for a while!
Halloween is one of the best times of the year to show off your creative spirit and celebrate the spooky season. With the right planning and maintenance, you can make your property look frightfully fantastic without compromising on safety or functionality. Not sure how to do that? The team at Pod Landscapes are here to help! We provide regular leaf clearance services to help you stay on top of the leaf litter, as well as seasonal planting and maintenance to help your grounds look extra haunted during the spooky season. Just get in touch with the team to find out more.
