Today we’re visiting with Cherry Ong in Richmond, British Columbia.
Fall is the time to close the garden, and it seems like making topped pumpkins has become a tradition for me. Here are this year’s handmade Thanksgiving gifts. (I kept two for myself!)
A pumpkin topped with succulent cuttings from the garden
The variety of textures and colors of succulent leaves makes a beautiful arrangement.
A dried hydrangea flowerhead adds to the display.
I tried something different this year. Some of these pumpkins are topped with mixed nuts, pine cones, silver bell eucalyptus, and strawflowers. Those that have succulents require weekly watering, but those that don’t require even less maintenance.
White strawflowers (Bracteantha bracteata, Zones 10–11 or as an annual) are from the summer garden. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
This season brought a lot of Turk’s turban squash to the nursery. These are brightly colored, attractive gourds measuring up to 10 inches (24 centimeters) across. They are excellent for baking and stuffing but are also stunning in fall displays as decorative gourds, so I made a whole lot of what I have dubbed “fairy crown” pumpkins. This very old variety has been in cultivation since before the 1800s. Unlike the classic succulent-topped pumpkins, these are decorated from the bottom side to show their interesting shape and colors.
It’s been quite fun creating them, and even more fun giving them away. Succulents are from the garden.
This is a pumpkin tulipiere. I saw the project on Martha Stewart and thought I’d try it this season given all the gorgeous pumpkins. The flowers and berries are all from the garden.
I wanted to make the version airier like a tulipiere, so I changed it to singular dahlia stems. My family said it was is too spindly, though, so I cut the flowers shorter to make this version and added beautyberries from the garden again.
Here’s a process shot that shows the drilled holes for the dahlia stems to go in.
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.
