The Pumpkins Have Started to Arrive . . .

In the back garden,

A pumpkin replaces the sorry looking geraniums

on the table under the pergola.

And inside . . . 

A couple of years ago, when friend Martha Jane hosted a

meeting (either garden club or PEO)

she had the most marvelous centerpiece on her dessert table.

This is not Martha Jane's -- I didn't get a picture of hers

A succulent filled pumpkin

I brazenly asked where she got it

She kindly found the magazine where she got her idea,

made a color copy for me

And an idea was born

An idea whose time had come, I decided

On the breakfast room table at Linderhof . . . 

Full of succulents big and little

I've always loved greens with the oranges of fall

It makes a great centerpiece on the breakfast room table!

And it's easy to do . . . 

1. Pick a pumpkin -- the flatter Cinderella's work best I think
2. Buy some sphagnum moss (unless, like me, you already have some)
3. Wash and dry the outside of the pumpkin, cut off the stem
4. Use spray adhesive to spray the top of the pumpkin
5. Position moss on top of the adhesive.     About 1/2 inch or so is enough
6. With dabs of glue on the bottom of cuttings of succulents, arrange on top of the moss
7. Water the moss with a spray bottle about once a week
8. If you use indoors, place on a plate . . . pumpkins have been known to ruin tabletops (whether they have succulents in them or not!
9. Probably by the time you're ready to put out Christmas, the pumpkin may be rotting.    Just transfer the succulents to another pot where they should continue to grow!

Enjoy!