When summer blooms fade, revamp the decorative urns and planters as stylish bases for pumpkin topiaries. Embellish the towers with bits of garden moss tucked around the pumpkins.
Fresh pumpkins or artificial carvable pumpkins: 1 each in small, medium, and large
Black acrylic crafts paint
Assorted artist's paintbrushes
Matte-finish acrylic spray varnish
Apple corer
36-inch length of 1-inch-diameter wooden dowel
Large garden urn filled with potting soil
Floral moss
How to Make It
Use a pencil to sketch four vertical rows of diamond shapes onto the medium-size pumpkin.
Using an appropriate-size brush, fill in the diamond shapes with black acrylic paint; let dry.
Apply a second coat if necessary. Let dry.
Spray the acrylic varnish on all pumpkins and let dry.
Use the apple corer to make holes in the tops and bottoms of the large- and medium-size pumpkins.
Make a hole in the bottom of the small pumpkin. Insert the dowel completely through the large pumpkin, then completely through the medium pumpkin, finally placing the small pumpkin on top.
Set the pumpkin assembly in the urn, pressing the dowel into your potting soil.