I can do this. How about you? Planting a pumpkin with succulents.

             I am sorry that I have missed a couple of days of posting.  That hasn't happened too much since Feb.  But I did have a weekend of family things and it was great to see so many people, and catch up with news.  I have been noticing lots of succulent plantings for the fall, and one is using pumpkins.  But really think about artificial pumpkins for this activity and you will not have the mess of rotting pumpkins.  I am going to try this with artificial pumpkins and have been teaching Sunday School this will be an activity for the kids to do. I will post pictures of that. 
So here are some helpful hints with this planting from http://www.succulentsandsunshine.com
 
I’ve been admiring all the beautiful succulent topped pumpkins I’ve seen lately on various social media platforms. I’ve made them in the past (including one for the Idiot’s Guides: Succulents) but was disappointed with how quickly the pumpkin rotted, despite the fact I did not cut or puncture it in any way. So I decided to try something a little different. I planted succulents in a fake pumpkin!
 
To start, you’ll want to cut an opening in the top of the pumpkin. I didn’t try to make mine perfectly round, but let it kind of follow the shape of the pumpkin, although fake pumpkins are pretty perfect.
 
You can discard the top or find another use for it. You’ll also want to drill a bunch of holes in the bottom for drainage. This will be crucial in keeping the succulents healthy.
 
You can fill up the pumpkin with soil! Even though I was using rooted succulents I found I needed the soil to nearly reach the top in order for the succulents to stay above the edge of the pumpkin.  Start by placing your largest succulent first.
After your largest succulent is set, start filling in with the rest. I’m really happy with how it turned out! To care for the pumpkin, I’ll water it just like I would a normal arrangement. I waited to water it until a couple days after planting.  Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty, Iowa