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Flowers in a pumpkin. Bright autumn background. Colorful autumn card. Pumpkin with fresh flowers. Autumn flower arrangement. Autumn bouquet.

DIY Pumpkin Flower Arrangement for Thanksgiving

Bring the beauty of fall into your home with a charming and easy-to-make pumpkin floral arrangement. It’s a simple and festive way to decorate your home with fall’s beauty. A warm and welcoming floral bouquet of the season’s gorgeous rich color palette is a great way to celebrate autumn, spruce up your home, and add simple elegance to your Thanksgiving table. 

autumn floral bouquet in a pumpkin vase for Halloween. Table setting for wedding

How to Make a Pretty Pumpkin Floral Arrangement

How to make a Thanksgiving centerpiece - step by step: flowers and accessories.

Tools you’ll need: 

  • Small to medium-sized pumpkin (select one with a level bottom, so the pumpkin doesn’t lean to the side)
  • Pumpkin carving knife or a regular sharp knife
  • Flower clippers or sharp scissors
  • Narrow vessel (tall shot glass or skinny vase) to place inside the pumpkin
  • Gorgeous fresh seasonal blooms of different sizes, colors, and textures 

How to make a Thanksgiving centerpiece: bouquet of flowers in pumpkin.

How to make the flower bouquet

  1. Carve a hole in the top of the pumpkin large enough for the glass vase (or vessel holding the flowers) to fit inside. 
  2. Scoop out all the seeds and save them for later (to roast for a snack, add to salads or smoothies, or dry them and let the squirrels, deer, and birds enjoy them).
  3. Fill the vase with ½ to ¾ of water and place it inside the pumpkin. You do not want water to sit directly within the pumpkin itself – it will get messy quickly. You can also place a water-saturated piece of floral foam into the bottom of the vase instead of water.
  4. Once the vessel is in, you can begin designing your bouquet. Start with filling in the greenery first. Seeded eucalyptus or silver eucalyptus are great options for starting with. Fall leaves and branches are also excellent design choices.

Beautiful bouquet of flowers: white, pink and burgundy peonies

           You can also create the flower arrangement in the vessel before you put it into the pumpkin if you prefer.

          5. Add sturdy flowers, followed by berries or other filler florals to fill in the spaces and complete the look. Since this is a centerpiece, you’ll want the arrangement to be viewable from all sides. Turn the pumpkin as you work to ensure it’s balanced and full all around. 

 

Tips for success: 

  • Use a flower frog to secure stems and assist in creating a rounded and balanced arrangement. A flower frog is an object made of metal, wood, ceramic, or plastic with evenly spaced holes for placing flowers into. 

Vintage metal flower cage used for arrangements

  • Place the vessel you’ve selected to go inside the pumpkin on top and trace around it with a sharp knife. Then using the tracing as a guide, cut deeper and carve out the pumpkin meat to create a hollow center so that that vessel will fit in snugly.
  • Use a spoon to scoop out the pulp – it works great at hollowing out pumpkins.
  • If using floral foam, leave it in water until it stops releasing bubbles. This is how you know it’s completely saturated. Don’t force or push the foam under the water; let it sink naturally. 
  • If you don’t have a flower frog, no need to go out and buy one – just use floral tape (or any thin tape) to create a grid over the opening of the vessel.
  • Make sure to cut the stems of your flowers at a 45-degree angle before placing them in water or floral foam. Place the longest stems in the center at different angles to create a domed look.
  • Make a trio of pumpkin bouquets with different-sized pumpkins for a more festive fall-inspired look. 
  • Use white pumpkins to elevate the design and give contrast to the richly-colored fall florals.
  • Paint the pumpkin a fun color or add succulents instead of flowers for a fun, chick look. 
  • Don’t fuss too much about the design. Looking carefree and fuss-free is the goal of the arrangement and what makes it charming. 

Decorated pink pumpkin with succulents, flowers and leaves at the greek garden shop in October. Vertical.

Non-carving method: 

Choose a level pumpkin of any color and place a block of water-saturated floral foam on top, pushing down onto the stem until it’s secure. Start building your arrangement laying a base of greenery to cover the foam. Build arrangement and fill in any areas showing the foam, so it’s fairly well concealed. 

Beautiful autumn bouquet in pumpkin on table