October 19, 2023

Halloween Lawn Decorations: Ideas to Spook Up Your Yard

Halloween is right around the corner! Southeast Michigan yards will soon be filled with ghostly graveyards and other Halloween-themed scenes. Turning your lawn into a carefully curated stage for trick-or-treaters and neighbors requires imagination, creativity, and some elbow grease. But with winter around the corner, preparing your yard for the cold and the stress of trampling feet is crucial. Whether you aim for a light-hearted vibe or a spine-chilling spectacle, here are three DIY Halloween decorations for outside to spook up your yard!

Outdoor Halloween Decorations

Halloween seems to bring out the kid in many of us, mainly because of the free candy! Either way, decorating your front lawn can be fun and budget-friendly. We’ve put together a few of our favorite creepy-crawly displays that are sure to have trick-or-treaters doing a double-take.


Garden Ghosts

There are few ways to make garden ghosts, but our pick provides an eerie glow. All you need is a tomato cage, a sheet, black felt, glue, and a string of lights. You can also add spikes to help keep the tomato cage stable. Here’s how to make it:


  1. Wrap your lights around the tomato cage a few times to light all sides for added depth.
  2. Throw your white sheet or other white material over the tomato cage.
  3. Cut out felt eyes and mouth and glue them on.
  4. Hit the switch and watch them glow!


Haunted Graveyard

A haunted graveyard is a Halloween classic! And coming up with names of the “deceased” is part of the fun! Here’s how to turn your front yard into a ghoulish graveyard using dry floral styrofoam, a knife, spray paint, and a few other items:


  1. Using a permanent marker, outline the tombstone on the dry floral styrofoam.
  2. Cut the foam along the outline.
  3. Draw your designs on your tombstone, including RIP and other spooky but fun names or sayings.
  4. Carve out the designs using a paring knife or similar. You want to make sure you go at an angle to give the writing depth and carve as deep as ½ inch.
  5. Spray paint the tombstone black or dark gray.
  6. Apply thin layers of dark acrylic paint, allowing them to dry in between to give the appearance of granite.
  7. Use bamboo skewers to help anchor the tombstones into the ground.


Want to make it even creepier? Add skeleton arms, hands, or feet coming out of the graves.


Mummy Jar Lanterns

Darkness falls early on Halloween. Even though many kids now trick or treat with flashlights and glow sticks, adding light to your walkway or driveway is always a good idea. These mummy jar lanterns can also be placed throughout your yard or on your porch. You can make these with a jar, a small string of lights, tape, googly eyes, and a few more items:


  1. Apply two googly eyes to a jar with PVA glue or super glue.
  2. Take white tape (electrical tape, masking tape, washi tape or even gauze bandages or strips of muslin), and, starting at the bottom, wrap it around the jar, leaving gaps and even overlapping, but do not cover the googly eyes.
  3. Let the glue for the eyes dry.
  4. Add a small string of battery-powered lights or LED tealights to the jar.


Winterize Your Lawn

As the temperatures continue to drop, it’s essential to start preparing your lawn for the winter season ahead in Southeast Michigan. Proper winter lawn care will ensure your yard stays healthy through heavy snow and freeze-thaw cycles. Here are three tips to winterize your lawn before setting up your Halloween yard decorations:


  • Prune weak branches during late fall, giving trees and bushes time to recover before a deep freeze.
  • Fertilize trees and shrubs in early August so they store nutrients through winter dormancy. An early fall feeding is ideal.
  • Weed your gardens and then add an extra layer of mulch to help the soil retain moisture better and to insulate root systems.


Southeast Michigan’s Top Lawn Care Services 

Partnering with a professional lawn care company like Visionary Fertilization doesn’t have to be scary! With our help, your yard will look picture-perfect as a backdrop for those Halloween decorations. Our experts use time-tested products and practices to help protect against cold weather damage. We offer a variety of lawn care services, including Winterguard for trees and shrubs and our 7-Step Treatment Program designed to keep your yard thriving year-round. Contact us today for a free quote and take the first steps toward protecting your lawn from winter’s wrath.

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