If your trip to the pumpkin patch involves looking to buy pumpkins for carving, you could be missing a great fall decorating opportunity.
Yes, pumpkins make wonderful jack-o’-lanterns and are a great outlet for creativity, and self-expression. They deliver Halloween ambiance like nothing else.
But don’t forget to look at pumpkins as much more than something to be enjoyed for a few days around Halloween. Pumpkins that have not been carved last for weeks, sometimes months, and are a wonderful way to decorate your home for the fall and winter.
This is especially true these days when there are so many pumpkin varieties available. New pumpkin shapes, sizes, colors and textures offer a slew of different decorating possibilities.
Best of all, they are clean and easy to arrange. Even a novice can arrange pumpkins in a visually pleasing way.
Here are a few ideas to inspire you to decorate with pumpkins this fall:
Go for a White Out
The proliferation of white pumpkins in every size means that you can create white-themed pumpkin compositions. White pumpkins continue to look season appropriate even in the winter. Click here for a Sunset Magazine display of how great white pumpkins can look when grouped.
Go Classic
Along with changing leaves, orange pumpkins scream fall. They make all of us, even us Californians, think of cozy things like steaming hot cider and sitting by a fire. Click here for a Martha Stewart Living example of an arrangement compiled of pumpkins mixed with different kinds of orange fruits and vegetables at a local market.
Go Earthy and Natural
Pale green, beige, gray and butter yellow pumpkins look great when paired. Similar to a sepia photograph, they have a charm all their own. They look especially good when used with burlap and woven baskets.
Better yet, get inspired by what you see at a local pumpkin patch near you. There are several to choose from, including Big Wave Dave’s Pumpkin Patch, 3865 State St. in Santa Barbara or 4075 Telegraph Road in Ventura; Lane Farms, 308 S. Walnut Lane in Goleta; and The Interactive Pumpkin Patch at Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real in Santa Barbara.
You can also make a field trip out of your search for the perfect pumpkins and head over the hill to the Solvang Farmer’s Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze, on Alamo Pintado Road near Highway 246 in Solvang, or to Ojai at Boccali Ranch Pumpkin Patch, 3277 E Ojai Ave.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Hilary Doubleday can be reached at hdoubleday@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.