Back to the Be Inspired Blog
It’s Alive! Classic Monster-Inspired Container Gardens
Bring a little monster magic to your fall garden with unexpected colors, textures and foliage inspired by Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman.
Halloween plants don’t have to mean plastic spiders and fake cobwebs. Some of the most recognizable monsters already come with pretty fantastic garden color palettes.
Electric green and inky black. Deep burgundy and blood red. Chocolate brown, copper and shaggy grasses.
Borrow the colors and character rather than recreating the monsters literally, and you can create fall containers that are dramatic, a little strange and surprisingly beautiful.
Choose Your Monster
Frankenstein • Dracula • Wolfman
Frankenstein: Electric, Dark & Just a Little Eerie
Frankenstein may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you're choosing plants for a fall container—but take another look at that famous color palette.
Electric green. Inky black. Eerie gray. A touch of deep purple.
Turns out, those colors look pretty fantastic together in the garden.
Build Your Monster
The best container combinations bring together plants with different heights, shapes and textures. For our Frankenstein-inspired creation, we're looking for something spiky and dark, something brilliantly green, something that spills and something just a little ghostly.
Give Him Some Hair
Black Mondo Grass
Those spiky, nearly black blades couldn't be more perfect. Use black mondo grass toward the back or center of your container to give the arrangement height—and perhaps a subtle nod to Frankenstein's famous hair.
Bring on the Monster Green
Chartreuse Coleus
Here's where Frankenstein really comes to life. Look for coleus with bright chartreuse or lime-green foliage. Its larger leaves provide a great contrast to the narrow blades of mondo grass.
Depending on what's available, lime-green heuchera can create a similar effect.
Add Something Dark
Dark Heuchera
Deep burgundy, purple or almost-black heuchera adds another layer of moody color. Its ruffled leaves bring a completely different texture to the mix.
Let It Spill
Creeping Jenny
Bright chartreuse Creeping Jenny spilling over the edge ties all that monster green together. Its small rounded leaves soften the container while adding another contrast in shape and texture.
Make It a Little Eerie
Dusty Miller
A little silvery foliage is the finishing touch. Dusty miller's pale, ghostly color stands out beautifully against black, burgundy and bright green foliage.
Put Frankenstein Together
Start with a black, charcoal or aged concrete container.
Place black mondo grass toward the back for height. Add chartreuse coleus and dark heuchera through the middle. Tuck in dusty miller for a flash of silvery gray, then finish with Creeping Jenny cascading over the edge.
And don't worry about making it perfectly symmetrical.
This is Frankenstein, after all. A few unexpected combinations are part of the charm.
Other plants to consider include lime heuchera, lamb's ear, deep-purple pansies or violas, dark ornamental peppers and ornamental grasses or sedges.
The goal isn't to use them all. Pick the plants that bring your monster to life.
Dracula: Dark, Dramatic & Blood Red
If Frankenstein is all about electric contrast, Dracula calls for something richer and a little more sophisticated.
Nearly black. Deep burgundy. Blood red. A flash of ghostly white or silver.
This container should feel dramatic rather than overly Halloween-themed—and those colors happen to make a gorgeous fall combination.
Start in the Shadows
Dark Heuchera or Black Mondo Grass
Deep purple, burgundy and nearly black foliage creates the perfect foundation. Choose ruffled heuchera for fullness, spiky black mondo grass for height, or combine the two.
Add a Little Blood Red
Red Cyclamen, Pansies or Snapdragons
Rich red flowers immediately bring Dracula's palette to life. Deep crimson and wine-red shades work especially well against dark foliage.
Use them as accents rather than filling the entire container with red.
Something Pale in the Moonlight
White Cyclamen or Dusty Miller
A small amount of white or silver keeps all that dark foliage from disappearing into itself. White cyclamen adds flowers, while dusty miller gives you a cooler, ghostlier contrast.
Add Some Bite
Dark Ornamental Peppers
Dark-leaved ornamental peppers with red, purple or nearly black fruit bring an unusual shape and just enough wicked personality to the combination.
Let Something Silver Spill
Dichondra 'Silver Falls'
The soft, rounded silver foliage of Dichondra 'Silver Falls' provides a beautiful contrast to Dracula's darker palette. Let it cascade over the edge of the container to add movement and a pale, moonlit finish.
Put Dracula Together
Try a black or deep burgundy container.
Use black mondo grass or another dark upright plant for height. Surround it with dark heuchera, then weave in a few deep-red blooms. Add dusty miller or white cyclamen for pale contrast, dark ornamental peppers for a little bite, and finish with Dichondra 'Silver Falls' trailing over the edge.
Elegant by day. A little more mysterious after dark.
Wolfman: Wild, Woodsy & Wonderfully Shaggy
The Wolfman deserves a completely different look.
Instead of black and bright Halloween color, think about the shades you might find in a moonlit forest:
Chocolate brown. Bronze. Copper. Tawny gold. Deep burgundy.
And most importantly—texture.
This is the container that should look a little untamed.
Give Him a Wild Mane
Bronze or Burgundy Ornamental Grass
Start with something tall, loose and slightly shaggy. Look for an ornamental grass or sedge with bronze, burgundy or warm brown tones.
The more movement it has, the better.
Bring in the Chocolate
Chocolate or Bronze Heuchera
Heuchera in chocolate brown, bronze, caramel or deep burgundy gives this combination rich color without making it feel too dark.
Its ruffled foliage also works beautifully with finer grasses.
Add Something Small & Wild
Heather
Heather is especially fun here. Its tiny flowers or buds and twiggy texture give the container a woodsy, slightly wild quality without overwhelming the foliage.
Depending on availability, small-flowered violas or pansies in copper, rust, burgundy or deep purple can create a similar accent.
A Little Moonlight
Lamb's Ear
Soft, furry and silvery—could there be a more appropriate Wolfman plant?
Use just enough lamb's ear to break up the browns and burgundies and give the container a pale highlight.
Let It Get a Little Messy
Silver Dichondra
A trailing or arching plant keeps the container from looking too composed. Silver dichondra adds a soft, moonlit effect as it spills over the edge.
Put Wolfman Together
Start with a weathered charcoal, aged terracotta or stone-colored container.
Use your ornamental grass as the thriller. Add chocolate heuchera around its base, tuck in heather or a few small copper or deep-purple flowers, and finish with lamb's ear and a little trailing silver foliage.
Then resist the urge to fuss with it too much.
Wolfman should look like he's been out all night.
Make Your Monster Your Own
Can't find one of these exact plants? That's completely fine.
The idea isn't to follow a rigid recipe. It's to follow the color and texture story.
Frankenstein: Electric green • Chartreuse • Nearly black • Deep purple • Silver
Dracula: Nearly black • Burgundy • Blood red • White • Silver
Wolfman: Chocolate • Bronze • Copper • Burgundy • Soft gray
Look around the nursery for plants that fit the palette, then combine different leaf shapes, heights and textures until something catches your eye.
You may end up creating an entirely new monster.
Monsters Worth Creating
Set your finished containers near the front door or patio and add pumpkins or gourds if you want to lean into Halloween.
Once spooky season is over, simply remove the Halloween accents.
What's left are three beautiful fall container combinations built around foliage, texture and color rather than decorations.
And that may be the best trick of all.
