An easy-to-make centerpiece for your fall-themed table, using fake or live pumpkins, they come together quickly with just a few ingredients. By integrating dried flowers, beans, and juicy succulents, your centerpiece will last for weeks, if not months. And don’t be afraid to use a good quality fake pumpkin. Some of them look so real that it can be difficult to tell them apart.
Drying flowers from my garden all summer gave me plenty of material to choose from and I had a bumper crop of dried sunflowers to use. Dried oranges and hot peppers in my dehydrator. As far as succulents go, I have a bunch of plants that grew all summer that I was ready to harvest.
Choose the shapes and colors of succulents that interest you the most and cut them as close to the ground as possible at the base to get a good stem. Let the stems “break” the ends before using them. Shutting the cut end forms a thin skin that prevents juice from escaping from the juicy material.
The range of pumpkins to choose from is so wide and diverse that it can be confusing which base will be best. But look for something that has a wide, flat top, a good stem, and no signs of rot, such as scratches or holes. If there are any cuts in the skin of the pumpkin, rot can set in very quickly and the pumpkin will not last long.
I like lighter colored pumpkins because they show off their juiciness better, but the traditional choice is bright orange.
For this centerpiece, I chose a green jarred pumpkin as a base and to start, I hot glued some green moss on top, giving the succulents something to adhere to. Don’t carve the pumpkin! Continue gluing the larger items on top around the stem. Here I used small white pumpkins and dried sunflowers as the main ingredients instead of succulents. I added some succulents at the end.
Next, glue the small dried flowers with hot glue. The use of a burgundy rooster’s crest created a nice contrast to the lighter colored pumpkins.
Continue adding dried flowers to cover the top and sides of the pumpkin. One of my favorite dried leaves is Dusty Miller (Senecio cinerea). When beautifully dried, it looks almost as good as fresh.
Continue gluing the dried blue hydrangea and some flexible metal fern beads to enhance the richness of the design. Be sure to go down the sides of the pumpkin to give it a great look. It’s almost over!
Finally dried blue sage and succulents were added and the finishing touch was a slice of kiwi.
Your creations will last for weeks after Christmas. To make it last longer, do not expose the pumpkin to sunlight and the colder the temperature, the better. Misting with a few pumps of water every few days will keep them looking fresh and even cause some of the succulents to take root.
Another opportunity to use decorated pumpkins is for the Christmas season. I pick some white pumpkins in late November, when most pumpkins are marked, and decorate them with holly, pods, and red accents.
