Stacey Solomon has kicked off September in style by unveiling what just might be one of her most iconic autumn doorscapes to date. This year, she has kept things completely natural and grown a living pumpkin arch, and the result is amazing.
Stacey’s raised the bar for autumn decorating ideas with her living doorscape. Sharing her autumn door on Instagram last week, she revealed that her design this year is 100% natural, made up of a pumpkin vine that she has trained up and over an arch. The effort and planning alone that must have gone into this display are enough to make it iconic.
‘Anyone who knows me knows this is peak happiness for me 😂 My first ever 100% natural front door display 🥲 Anyone who says “it’s too earlyyyyy 🙄“ Sorry Wilma I can’t control nature 😂🧡 And I can’t keep cable tying my pumpkins back on 😂 also it’s never too early for pumpkins in my opinion!’ she wrote on Instagram.
Over the last year, Stacey Solomon has shared her enthusiasm for growing her own vegetables in the garden at Pickle Cottage on her BBC show Stacey and Jo, and her Instagram account. She revealed that @sams_growingfood had helped her grow her pumpkin arch, showing a shot of the small vine before it was trained up the arch.
Growing pumpkins vertically over a sturdy arch structure, like this £10 metal garden arch from Amazon, is a common technique when growing pumpkins in a small garden or allotment. However, it is usually recommended that you do this with smaller fruiting varieties.
Stacey has taken a risk with larger pumpkins but revealed to her fans in the comments section that she has called in extra enforcements and secured the large pumpkins to the arch structure using cable ties. When asked if they were getting too heavy to stay on the arch, she confessed, ‘yes they already are, & I had to cable tie some of them.’
Her secret to keeping the larger pumpkins secured is a smart trick used by many gardeners to secure plants to arches as they grow. You can pick up a pack of 150 green cable ties for £5 on Amazon that will blend in with whatever you’re growing.
How to grow pumpkins around an arch
If you want to try growing pumpkins over an arch next year like Stacey, the experts recommend playing it safe with a smaller pumpkin variety.
‘Growing pumpkins over an arch can be relatively simple, but it will be more successful if you only try this method with smaller pumpkin varieties such as ‘Jack Be Little’ or ‘Baby Bear’ as they are easier to train up supports,’ says Richard Barker, gardening expert and commercial director of LBS Horticulture.
You can buy ‘Baby Bear’ seeds from Thompson & Morgan and ‘Jack Be Little’ pumpkin seeds from Suttons, ready to plant in May for less than £2.
‘As the pumpkins grow, you will need to weave the vines into the arch and tie them in place at first so that the plant’s tendrils begin to cling to it.’
Richard also recommends reinforcing the arch as the pumpkins grow, rather than relying on the plant pots Stacey has used. ‘To give the arch extra strength, bury it deeply into the ground at each end and add diagonal braces to give it more support. You may also need to secure the arch to the ground using pegs to stop it from falling over.’
‘As the pumpkins are growing and starting to produce fruit, it can be beneficial to use netting (like the kind used on lemon trees) to support them as they develop and reduce the risk of them falling from the arch,’ he adds. Some of Stacey’s followers recommend using old tights for the job to add extra support.
Amazon
Garden Arch Green Metal
Amazon
150 Pcs Green Cable Ties
Crocus
Square Ornamental Plant Frame
While it’s now a little too late in the season to grow a pumpkin vine from scratch around your door like Stacey Solomon (there’s always next year!), you can still take some planting cues from her display for an instant, natural autumnal door.
To complement her pumpkin arch, she has planted up large stone planters with chrysanthemums in purple and yellow shades, and marigolds around the base of the arch. These plants will keep flowering until the first frost, providing an instant hit of autumnal colour through September and October.
Styled with some of her homegrown pumpkins, the finished look is naturally beautiful. Will you be growing your own pumpkin display next year?
Read the full article here