Welcome to the Greater Des Moines BOOtanical Garden this October!

BOOtanical Garden Halloween Goings On

October just got cooler! Visit the Greater Des Moines BOOtanical Garden with a Halloween-focused calendar of activities for all ages and interests. We have so many ways you can haunt with us! From the popular daytime children’s focused event Trick or Trees and fun for everyone during Eerie Evenings, to one night just for the 21+ crowd at Boos & Brews. You can find out all about each activity here. Interested in a class or drop-in activity? Check out everything we have for you on our event calendar.

This Halloween, skip the fake fangs and plastic spiders. The REAL creepy fun is here in your neck of the woods, ready to “trick” you with a variety of lights or “treat” you to something tasty, creative, or even a little bit creepy.

• Create a Spooky Terrarium: Want to design and care for carnivorous plants when in your own terrarium? Make your own in this hauntingly interesting workshop. All materials are provided—just bring your creativity! Sign up here
• Science Meets Spookiness: Learn about the creepy and wild side of the plant world from BOOtanical Garden staff. Then feed some of our carnivorous plants, before they find a meal for themselves! All participants must be at least 21 years of age. Registration required. Admission to Eerie Evenings is included. Hurry—space is limited

As Halloween approaches and shadows dance through your garden, the most sinister residents might not be ghosts or ghouls, but the plants themselves! Welcome to the ghastly world of carnivorous plants—a realm where insect-eating flora blend botanical enchantment with a touch of horror. Let’s unearth fun and fascinating facts about these real-life “monsters,” and meet some truly creepy crawlies pulled straight from nature’s haunted garden.

Meet the Macabre: Carnivorous Plants

• Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)
  Perhaps the poster child of botanical creeps, the Venus flytrap sports snap-trap “jaws” lined with toothy spines. When an unsuspecting bug touches two hairs inside the jaws in quick succession, the trap slams shut in less than a second—imprisoning the victim for several days as the plant slowly digests its’ meal like a vampire savoring prey. But beware! Each leaf can only feast a handful of times before dying off, so every snack is precious!
• Pitcher Plants (Nepenthes and Sarracenia)
  Imagine a haunted “well” in the forest. Lured by sweet scents and vibrant colors, insects step onto the rim of the plants’ well, only to slip down the waxy, slippery walls into a sinister pool of digestive liquid below. Some tropical pitcher plants are so massive that small frogs, lizards, and even rodents can become lunch!
• Cobra Lily (Darlingtonia californica)
  With a hooded, snake-like appearance and translucent windows that trick insects into spiraling ever deeper, the cobra lily is the siren of swamps. Its downward pointing hair means once an insect enters, there’s no escape!
• Sundews (Drosera species)
  These tiny terrors resemble sparkling jewels, but their “dew” is a gluey trap. Flies and gnats land, get stuck, and are slowly enveloped as tentacled leaves curl inward. This is the stuff of slow-motion plant horror!

Horticultural Horrors: Fun & Spooky Facts

• Creepy Camouflage: Many carnivorous plants look like innocent flowers or even mimic their prey’s favorite colors and scents, luring victims straight into peril.
• Deadly Traps: Not all carnivorous plants snap shut. Some, like sundews, “hug” their prey; others, like pitcher plants, drown; while Venus flytraps count multiple touches before striking. These techniques avoid wasting energy on false alarms like raindrops or debris.
• Monster Growth: The largest pitcher plants (Nepenthes rajah) can “eat” creatures as large as frogs and mice, drawing tales of man-eating plants from deep jungle legend!
• Nature’s Trick or Treat? While bugs are tricked by sticky traps and intoxicating scents, these plants “treat” themselves to a ghoulish meal, recycling life to survive in nutrient-poor soil. An eco-friendly monster!

Creepy Crawlies: The Unlucky Guests

Just beneath those lidded traps lurk the doomed: spiders scurrying from danger, beetles oblivious to doom, and even unlucky moths lured in by the promise of nectar. About half the animal species on Earth are insects. Many of them are on the menu for hungry plants!

Happy haunting—and may your Halloween BOOtanical Garden visit be thrilling!