Holiday

[DiAnne]

I have a question for the experienced Holiday decorators.  I do not have a large front porch.  I have a large black planter at the bottom of the step that is open to the weather.  Right know it is full of red begonias but I was thinking about putting a bunch of small pumpkins and colorful gourds in it.  Will they hold up in our Seattle rain for a couple of months?  

I used to put daffodil bulbs in it and plant pansies over the top for the fall but we had a population explosion of rabbits and they eat the pansies.  

[ValuSkr]

That sounds like a fun idea.  Pumpkins would last a couple months if they aren't carved.  The problem I have with pumpkins is that squirrels eat them.

[on the bay]

My daughter is using mini white pumpkins for centerpieces and I never knew this but we read that if you wash them in a diluted bleach/water solution it will keep the bacteria out and they will last longer!

I bet they will last a good while on your porch. That will be so pretty!

[Lori Kaye]

My pumpkins last a couple months. I don’t carve them and I wash them with Clorox bleach like another poster suggested . 

[DiAnne]

Thanks everyone.  I would have never thought of washing with a bleach solution!!

[Scooty]

Have you heard of "Funkins"?  I buy them at AC Moore - a craft store.  They come in a few different sizes.  I put a hole in the bottom and then put a wooden dowel in the hole and put them in the ground.  I put them around my house in between New Guinea impatiens.  They never blow away and are squirrel proof. I use the same ones every year.  People think they are real.

[Irish1210]

These sound like a great find!  I love that they can be reused each year!

I have never heard of them before ~ I will be careful when pronouncing their name though : )

[Scooty]

I had to correct the auto spell check!!!!

[on the bay]

@Irish1210-

Is that your puppy?!

So cute!!

[Irish1210]

@on the bay

Yes, that's my "baby" ~ he's an Old English Sheepdog ~ love him : )

Thanks for noticing !