How to Make a Pumpkin Planter

There’s no dearth of pumpkin-themed everything at this time of the year. If you aren’t sipping your favorite spiced latte, you’re taking the kids to the pumpkin patch or wearing your favorite shade of orange to show some seasonal spirit. If you’ve done all of that but haven’t yet added a pumpkin planter to your porch, you’re missing out on one of fall’s best decorative accents.

The season itself is a wonderful excuse to get better acquainted with this fun and festive look. Even better, you don’t have to purchase a pumpkin planter — you can make it yourself. It’s an activity that’s sure to put you in a more seasonal state of mind, and it’s also an enjoyable craft that you can do with the kids if you choose. Here’s how to make your pumpkin planter ideas real this fall.

What You’ll Need for the Job

The basics are simple. You’ll need a large pumpkin, a selection of your favorite potted plants (ideally in rich, seasonal colors), a newspaper, a sharp knife, a pencil, a scoop for cleaning out the pumpkin, and a bowl.

How to Get Started

What’s lovely about a pumpkin planter is that it can express your taste in flowers beautifully. You might opt for warm colors like mustard and gold, or you might prefer richer tones like purple or crimson. No matter what you choose, you can be certain your flowers will stand out even more than usual because they’re nestled in a cute pumpkin planter. Your pumpkin shouldn’t be too ripe, or it will get soft too fast, and you won’t be able to use it for long before it’s time to toss it.

Prepping Your Pumpkin

It’s important that your pumpkin is ready to play its part. Start by setting a newspaper down to cover your workspace. Take your knife and create a hole directly on top of the pumpkin. This opening shouldn’t be larger than the plant’s pot. Instead, after making this opening, place the pot on top of the hole and use your pencil to create a circle around it. Now use the knife to cut out the remainder until you have a perfect, pot-sized opening.

Scoop Your Pumpkin

Next, it’s time to get the pumpkin ready for its next life as a hard-working planter. Use your scooping tool, like a spoon, to remove as much of the flesh and the seeds as possible. You don’t necessarily have to discard these insides — if you’re a cook, you could potentially prepare something with the pumpkin meat and roast the seeds.

Dress Your Pumpkin

Keep in mind that you don’t have to keep your pumpkin precisely the way it is. White pumpkins are the social media darlings of the moment, and there’s always room for a more glamorous gold or silver spray-painted pumpkin if you want to add a flash of metallic to your design. If you opt to paint your pumpkin, use your spray paint now and allow it to dry before continuing with the project.

Check the Bottom

Just like actual pots have drainage holes, your pumpkin planter needs it, too. To make this, just turn the pumpkin upside down and use your knife to create a small opening. That will minimize moisture buildup inside the pumpkin and prevent the rot that might otherwise cause the pumpkin to spoil.

Add Your Plant

Now comes the fun part: nestling your plant inside the planter! Ideally, the pot should slide inside easily. However, you may find you need to carve just a bit more for it to glide into the space without effort.

Voilà — your work is done, and you can sit back and admire your beautiful and creative celebration of the autumn. Have fun making a few pumpkin planters and show off your favorite seasonal plants, both on your porch and throughout your home. What a fun way to get into the spirit of the season!