Welcome the season with pumpkins – by Diane Morey Sitton

Whether they are as yellow as a harvest moon, as pasty-white as a graveyard ghost, as warty as a witch’s face, or as smooth as the pads on a black cat’s feet, pumpkins signal the season. Fortunately, there are as many ways to display pumpkins as the wide range of sizes, shapes, colors and textures of the pumpkins themselves.

Start by raiding your backyard pumpkin patch or by visiting local farmers’ markets and nurseries. Then, use the following ideas to create your own spooktacular display on porches, patios, steps and entrances.

1. Make an entrance. Welcome fall and neighborhood goblins with porch pumpkins, i.e., position pumpkins beside the front door, line them up on porch steps, and place them on tables, ceramic stools and rustic crates. Increase the color by adding potted mums. Amplify the texture with ornamental kale. Tie the display together with garlands of fall foliage.

2. Fill a wagon. Nestle pumpkins and gourds on a bed of straw in a wooden cart, a vintage wheelbarrow or a red wagon. Add sprigs of colorful leaves and berries.
3. Pile on the pumpkins. Heap up pumpkins of all sizes, shapes, and colors into a mound beside the front door or at the base of outdoor stairs.

4. Pair with plants. Use mini-pumpkins such as ‘Yellow Jacket’ or ‘Gooligan’ to create a seasonal accent in planter boxes, window boxes and hanging baskets filled with marigolds, small mums, pansies and evergreen vines.

5. Stack’em up. Create a pumpkin tower by stacking pumpkins of descending sizes atop one another. ‘Blue Jarrahdale’, ‘Fairytale’, ‘Cinderella’ and other squatty, wide selections work best. Fill the gap between each layer with moss or a bay wreath.

6. Fill’em with flowers. To make a pumpkin vase, select a pumpkin that sits level, clean out the seeds, insert a jar or container that holds water, and then add a bouquet of fall flowers, foliage and grasses.

7. Create a roadside attraction. Celebrate the season at roadside with hay bales, pumpkins, gourds, and corn shocks. Add an old wheelbarrow or a scarecrow. Paint a sign that says “Welcome fall”.

8. Make a face. Instead of using a straw-filled gunny sack or pillowcase to make a scarecrow head, select a smooth pumpkin such as ‘Orange Smoothie’. Draw on the eyes and mouth with waterproof markers or attach tiny pumpkins (‘Baby Boo’, ‘Pixie’, ‘Hooligan’), gourds or dried okra pods to create facial features. Add a cap or straw hat.

9. Be an artist. Transform a pumpkin or faux pumpkin into a work of art by using it as a canvas to paint an autumn-themed picture. Or, gather the kids for a splatter-painting party. Start by spray painting each pumpkin, and then turn the kids loose to splatter-paint the pumpkins with contrasting colors of watered-down acrylic paint. Display the art pumpkins on porch tables.

10. Convey a message. Turn pumpkins into message boards by using permanent markers to write “Hello fall” and other seasonal greetings. Create a farmhouse vibe by using a black marker to write “gather” on `Polar Bear’ and other white pumpkins.

Care tips
To keep outdoor pumpkins looking their best all season, wash them with a mild bleach solution, and then thoroughly dry them before them setting out. If you carve the pumpkin, seal the cut surface with petroleum jelly. Display pumpkins in a cool, shaded area out of direct sunlight. Elevate pumpkins off the ground to prevent moisture from forming underneath. Sprinkle red pepper flakes around outdoor displays to fend off squirrels and other critters that might damage pumpkins.