Table of Contents: Nightshade

We’re in a black mood. As Halloween approaches, we’re exploring the dark side of landscape design. Join us for a week of rusty metal, black grasses, and poisonous plants:

Above: We’re cutting branches from our smoke bush to make dark and moody floral arrangements. See more about it in our Growing Guide: Smoke Bush.

Monday

• We round up 11 ideas for instant Halloween decor in this week’s Curb Appeal post.

Tuesday

• Alexa sleuths for cast iron and bronze door knockers in this week’s 10 Easy Pieces post.
• Dalilah explores a poisonous (but healing) corner of the garden in this week’s Required Reading book review.
• Alexa discovers some surprising genius garden hacks with rusty metal in this week’s Landscaping post.

Wednesday

• If your garden is too small for a colorful tree, you can still have New England-style fall foliage. In this week’s Roundup post, Marie explores the color science of shrubs.

Thursday

• We round up our favorite matte black porch lights in this week’s bonus 10 Easy Pieces post.
• In our Required Reading post, Meredith explores the dark past (and bright future) of a 17th century chateau with a sumptuously dramatic landscape.

Friday

• Our Outbuilding of the Week is a tiny getaway cabin in the New Hampshire woods.