BOISE, Idaho — Halloween is here and Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so most people have been busy getting the holiday decor ready. Here is an idea that will last well into the fall season, long after the jack-o-lanterns are tossed away.
On this episode of 'You Can Grow It', Garden Master Jim Duthie rewinds the clock to bring up a Halloween classic, where a lot of crafty and creative ladies combined small pumpkins with a touch of indoor gardening to make some unique holiday decorations.
Autumn is in full swing, and Mother nature has been busy making some eye-catching displays outdoors with brilliant fall colors. A few Idaho ladies are also working on some indoor fall decorations of their own.
It is a frosty Saturday morning outside Edwards Greenhouses, but it is warm and toasty inside where about two dozen women are busy creating some unique and interesting centerpieces and decorations to adorn their homes for the fall season.
It is not unusual to display pumpkins this time of year, but these are not being carved into scary faces. Instead, they are being turned into creative displays, using succulent plants and dried flowers.
“I think I was going more for the dried floral thing," Ashley Kunz, a class participant said. "And stuck some succulents in there, and getting some of the fall colors, especially some of the oranges."
They start with small pumpkins, then gather an assortment of plant material, including pieces of succulent plants, some dried flowers, and some moss and dried seed pods. Besides the typical orange ones, these white pumpkins are interesting and different.
Next, they take some hot glue, dab it on the pumpkin, and start making their own arrangement with the plant material. There is no right or wrong way to do it, it is all up to your own creativity and imagination.
“Just learn to jump in, and just start, and keep creating," Sharon Carswell, another class participant said. "Look around for inspiration. There’s plenty of that."
“Whatever looks nice, I don’t really have any inspiration,” said Ms. Watkin said, “and if you don’t like it, you can take some of it apart. Nothing’s permanent.”
The end results are beautiful and amazing; transforming little pumpkins and some pieces of plants from the garden, into works of art just in time for the fall holidays.
The miniature pumpkins will also last for weeks without carving, and in some cases, the succulents themselves can be planted later and grow into thriving plants.
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