Decorating with pumpkins and gourds
The first signs of autumn may be pansies and mums on garden center benches and football games on television, but I am unable to embrace the season until I can start decorating with pumpkins.
We all have childhood memories of carving jack-o-lanterns - choosing the perfect pumpkins, carefully cutting lids from the tops, digging out flesh and seeds with spoons, and then carving scary or silly expressions.
It is still fun to examine each and every pumpkin to find the perfect specimen but today, there are many more varieties of pumpkins and gourds for fall decorating. Here are just a few you should look for at your local garden center.
Of all the non-traditional pumpkins, the bluish and greenish-gray varieties are the most unanticipated. Blue Moon and Green Warty are flattened globe-shaped pumpkins. Blue Moon has a smooth but deeply ribbed surface. Green Warty, as its name implies, is covered with large bumps. Either variety looks fantastic when mixed with orange pumpkins and are stunning when sitting beside purple-leaved ornamental cabbage or kale. Partner a Green Warty with Dynasty Red ornamental cabbage - the combinations smolders.
White pumpkins can create an eerie or elegant scene. Valenciano is a flattened, medium-sized pumpkin with a ribbed surface. Cotton Candy is similar in size, but has a smooth facade. It is perfectly suited to carve or paint into a friendly or ghoulish ghost. Or nestle a few amongst fall-blooming annuals and perennials.
You can never have too many pumpkins, especially if you select the very pretty variety named One Too Many. Their coloring has been described as a "bloodshot eye," but I don't think this description gives justice to this cream-colored pumpkin with orange red veining. It has an overall pastel appearance that blends beautifully with other white or orange pumpkins.
If you prefer softer colors in your displays, pastel pretties include Long Island Cheese, New England Cheddar and Porcelain Doll. Long Island Cheese and New England Cheddar boast soft coral peach skin that is smooth, but gently ribbed. Porcelain Doll is deeply ribbed in a gentle shade of salmon pink.
If you crave the unusual, choose a Lunch Lady. These over-sized gourds come in different shades of yellow, green and orange, and they all come with bumps, lots of bumps! Or there are Millionaires - small, round, yellow gourds with green stripes.
An heirloom, Turk's Turban is gorgeous in autumn displays. Highly decorative and colorful, it has a deep orange cap over a base of red, orange or green markings. I think they look best displayed upside down.
Pumpkins can be traditional in their orange coloring, but have unconventional features. Cinderella pumpkins are flattened and deeply ribbed, and their color can range from bright red to soft orange. All potential princesses should have at least one Cinderella pumpkin nearby in case their fairy godmothers happen by to create a magical carriage ride to the local ball.
Red Warty Thing is a head turner. Its lumpy bumpy skin contributes texture and rich color to pumpkin groupings. It is also the ultimate witch's face. Carve the eyes and mouth, and insert a small winged and warted gourd for her nose. Add a witch's black hat and broom. Chilling!
Knuckleheads and Warty Goblins have large bumps on medium- to large-sized pumpkins. They make weird and wonderful jack-o-lanterns. Baby Bumps are pint-sized versions.
And then there is a whole other world of small colorful gourds with names like Baby Boo, Jack Be Little, Wee Be Little, Winged and Warted, and Sweet Lightning.
So what are you going to do with all these captivating Cucurbitas? Create fun fall displays by simply grouping them together with Indian corn on straw bales positioned in front of some broomcorn or cornstalks. Include a few in containers to give them a seasonal flair. Fill a birdbath with winged and warted gourds. Or place a few pumpkins in your perennial borders where color is waning.
Traditional orange pumpkins are nice, but consider some of the weird, wacky and wonderful varieties this season and capture the essence of autumn in a whole new way.
• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist and the garden center manager at The Planter's Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield. Call (630) 293-1040, ext. 2, or visit planterspalette.com.