DIY Pumpkin Planters

Perk up your fall porch or table with a pumpkin packed with blooms. Instead of putting a candle in a jack-o-lantern, hollow out a pumpkin and use cool weather plants for a festive look that is sure to impress every guest. We recommend soaking your cut pumpkin in a quick bath of bleach before placing plants in. This will prolong the pumpkin once it's been cut. Poke a few holes in a tin can or small container and place inside your cut pumpkin. Add your plants, some soil and a little sprinkle of fertilizer. Try pansies, ornamental cabbage and kale, mums, or hardy succulents. Top off your finished planter with floral picks, sprigs of berries and even strands of lights. After Halloween, enjoy your planter into Thanksgiving. When the pumpkin declines, simply pop your plants into a new pumpkin or into a garden bed or container. So go for it -- think outside the pot, grab a pumpkin and get started!

TIP: In addition to pumpkins, try mixing butternut squash and gourds as well for container options.