Lucinda Hutson welcomed me and Teri Speight, my recent Garden Spark speaker, into her garden last week to see it decorated for Day of the Dead. This is a treat I look forward to all year.

Lucinda’s garden and purple cottage always glow with color in October, when cooler days and nights and — finally! — rain bring out the blooms again.

Hyacinth bean vine adding more purple in the garden

Lucinda decorates for Day of the Dead like no one else I know. (Click here for last year’s tour.) The skeleton lady in her lacy dress gets pride of place in the front garden, posed with a black cat that represents Lucinda’s recently departed and dearly loved Sancho Rey.

From behind, she’s just as good, a little haunting even, as she spreads purple monarch wings.

Another skeleton lady welcomes you at the front porch.

Lucinda cleverly uses waterproof Day of the Dead shopping bags from H-E-B grocery to dress up her porch arch.

Fall annuals go into round terracotta pots along the driveway.

A fallen sky vine flower (Thunbergia grandiflora), a beautiful shade of blue-lilac, rests on a gate hinge.

In the mermaid garden, an arch of shells frames an iron mermaid posing against a turquoise fence.

Skeleton mermaids come out for Day of the Dead.

Another mermaid emerges from a terracotta pot as fish swim by on decorative plates.

A smoky-orange bougainvillea smolders against the purple house.

Just look at that rich color.

St. Anthony, patron saint of lost things, is framed by an old wheelbarrow trough adorned with dozens of keys. Haven’t we all lost a few of these?

The raised edible garden is bright with potted marigolds and begonias at this time of year.

Lucinda’s kitchen window overlooks the garden, framed by corn tiles and broken pottery. Pink-flowering coral vine (Antigonon leptopus) is one of my favorite vines for fall.

Its flowers look lacy and delicate, but the vine itself is tough, even through the torrid summer.

Bright pillows add color to a cedar bench, with a bathtub Madonna as a corner focal point.

She’s a classic Lucinda vignette.

A potted begonia with silverware flowers makes a playful accent by the veggies.

More begonias, with St. Francis and another Sancho as backdrop

Lemongrass and marigolds

Festive dishes make a playful edging in the edible garden.

Lucinda adores color, and back here the house siding goes golden yellow. Painted children’s chairs from Mexico hang on the wall as decoration.

Looking back along the garden path

Candle stubs in a metal tub are evidence of recent garden gatherings.

Lucinda’s famous tequila cantina sits behind her garage.

Empty tequila bottles grace the shelves of an old wooden cabinet.

This is new: a sign reading Tequila por favor made out of Mexican and Puerto Rican license plates!

Shelf skull with tillandsia hair

Lucinda’s deck and dining table. That’s her back-yard office at left.

Before we left, we took a selfie of the three of us in the mermaid garden, all smiles after a fun garden visit.

Lucinda insisted we take a cookie or two — gingerbread skulls — and delicious Mexican pastry. Yum!

Inside, we got a sneak peek of her Day of the Dead table setting and altars, and I was invited back a few days later to see them lit up at night. Click here to see the altars by candlelight.

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Digging Deeper

Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!

All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.