Thrills, learning abound at NYBG’s Pumpkin Garden

Two marsh monsters, spiders and a bevy of jack-o’-lanterns have taken over the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). 

But the spooky creatures were not enough to scare 7-year-old Mariah Melendez as she traveled through NYBG’s Haunted Pumpkin Garden with her grandfather on Sept. 19. 

“It’s awesome. I like all the faces. The Pumpkin House is the awesomest,” she said with excitement as she stood outside a pint-sized house decorated with lightweight wooden faux-pumpkins and gourds called “funkins.” The set-up also had a windowsill skull and an imitation of the famous “American Gothic” painting in which the farmer and his wife are rendered as jack-o’-lanterns. 

Both the marsh monsters, which reside in the garden’s swamp area, and the arachnids, perched in bushes and trees, are also made of funkins, to avoid real pumpkins’ tendency to rot. Meanwhile, funkins carved with both happy and sad faces line the path of the garden, propped up on sticks or nestled into the path’s foliage. 

“It’s a really safe and beautiful place to celebrate the fall season with children,” said Patti Hulse, manager of youth and family programs at NYBG. “It’s a sweet Halloween experience. It’s not as scary.”

Along with exploring, kids can put on puppet performances at the Pumpkin Puppet Theater, scavenge for fruits throughout the garden and engage in a worm-digging activity. 

Ms. Hulse explained that the garden is as much about introducing kids to botanical science as it is about Halloween-fun. In one gardening activity, children plant a pumpkin seed in a small bag, which they fashion into a necklace to take home with them, where the seed can sprout and be replanted. 

In a few of the garden’s other sessions, attendees will get a chance to make new animal friends, including a Big Brown Bat, a Gigantic Flying bat, snakes and reptiles. 

Along with the funkins, there are also real pumpkins for children to carve each Saturday leading up to Halloween. 

One of the highlights of the program will take place on Oct. 18 and 19, when master pumpkin carver Ray Villafane will create a giant pumpkin sculpture. There will also be opportunities for trick-or-treating throughout the garden on the NYBG’s “Spooky nights.” 

“We love for them to be here and appreciate the natural beauty of the garden,” Ms. Hulse said. “Halloween gives them a chance to experience it.” 

The garden will be open through Halloween, on Friday, Oct. 31. A list of the garden’s programs can be found at www.nybg.org.