While my indoor fall decor has been up since September 1, we just got around to buying ornamental pumpkins for the outside. We decorate more in the back courtyard area because our porch is tiny and we never enter through the front door anyway.
Judging by my Instagram feed, it’s almost mandatory now to strategically place various gourds and pumpkins on your steps so we dutifully joined the weekend warriors at Home Depot, Lowes, Country Boys and pretty much every other store in the Upstate to search for the appropriate autumnal decor.
Lidl usually has the most inexpensive and basic orange carving pumpkins. This year, they had almost nothing left but I found some wheat and a few smaller gourds. Twin Bridge Nursery had a nice selection of trendy colored pumpkins (think pastel meets fall). Last year, we chanced upon Mauldin Open Air Market and they had a ton of produce. They had the best variety I’ve seen in the Upstate but it’s a little further out and we were under a time crunch.
Check out how it turned out below. I took photos at different times of day to illustrate how lighting makes a huge difference. I take my cues from the Instagram page, French Country Cottage, on incorporating lots of candles at night to create an inviting ambiance. Also, my nieces, Roselani and Harmony, helped me pot plant the pallet of pansies.
Technically, Rosie had a fashion show and Harmony actually became very invested in digging holes and placing plants.
Finally, we found the world’s largest mum at Home Depot so there’s that. It’s huuuuugggggeee!
Yeah That Courtney 