This stacked pumpkin topiary is the cutest Halloween decoration for the front porch! Easy to make and fun for all ages, they light up and can be broken down for storage when not in use.
I am a huge fan of Halloween and love to do all kinds of decorations to welcome trick-or-treaters. Every year, I add to our huge display of Outdoor Witch Decorations seen here. One of the first decorations I did were these lighted pumpkin topiaries!
Did I mention I still often dress up as a witch too?! We have such fun decorating the Halloween porch that getting dressed up in costume makes me feel like part of the action! Of course, these DIY pumpkin topiaries are the perfect sinister greeters for all the kids who dare come up to our door.
Supplies Needed
- ¾ inch dowel rod
- Drill and ¾ inch bit to make holes
- Plastic pumpkin heads
- Planter
- Planter Filling – Sand and foam or dirt
- Spanish moss
- Something to cut the dowel rod like a hand saw, if necessary
Where can I find pumpkins for a DIY Pumpkin Topiary?
I got mine at Lowes, but I admit these are getting harder to find. However, there are several other options that are just as cute! I have not specifically used these.
- Carvable foam pumpkins from Amazon.
- The Dollar Store and Michaels Craft Store sometimes has them.
- Home Depot has had very similar ones in the past few years.
- Plastic candy buckets.
- If your pumpkins aren’t able to be carved, decorate them in other ways like paint, flowers, stickers, or even glow in the dark paint.
- Using real pumpkins will cause them to rot faster.
How To Make a Stacked Pumpkin Topiary for Outdoors
There are full instructions in the tutorial card at the bottom of this post. However, this section gives a more thorough look at how we completed our project.
Since the pumpkins I had didn’t need to be carved in any way, I started by filling a planter with styrofoam and sand. The Styrofoam kept the planter from being ridiculously heavy. I added Spanish moss around the base and inserted the dowel rod all the way to the bottom of the planter.
Each pumpkin head had a hole drilled through the top and bottom. That is, except for the pumpkin I planned on putting on top. You need to drill only the bottom hole for that one.
I firmly pushed the pumpkins onto the stake and judged how much excess length to trim off the dowel rod. The dowel rods are pretty easy to cut with a handsaw or other cutting tool.
This diy topiary has an alternating offset for the fun jack o’lanterns, but you could do a straight stacked pumpkin topiary if there are no stems.
If your pumpkins have an open top (like candy buckets, consider drilling a small hole at the bottom to drain any rainwater or keeping them in a covered area.
My pumpkins came with lights, but you can easily add simple flameless candle like these. If the lights can’t be inserted through the face, cut a small hole in the back. Keep the “cork” and replace it after insertion.
I don’t recommend regular candles for foam or plastic pumpkins, since the heat can cause fire.
Looking for more fun Halloween decorations? These are spooky fun!
These little outdoor stacked pumpkins are a great way to greet the trick or treaters in your neighborhood. I was very happy with this project, and I love that it will last for years to come! Happy Haunting!
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DIY Pumpkin Topiary
Tools
- ¾ inch drill bit
- Hand Saw
Supplies
- 1 ¾ inch dowel rod
- 3-5 Pumpkin Heads
- 1 Large Planter
- Spanish Moss Optional
- Sand for filling planter
- Foam for filling planter
Instructions
- Insert the dowel rod into the planter, all the way to the bottom. Fill planter with sand and foam or dirt to anchor the dowel rod.
- Plan out how you want the pumpkins to stack and in which order. Mark areas for holes in the pumpkin head so that they stack nicely on top of each other at alternating angles.
- Drill holes in the top and bottom of all pumpkin heads except the top one.
- Press the pumpkin heads onto the dowel rod. If necessary, cut any excess off of the dowel rod using a hand saw or other cutting tool.
- Add flameless tea lights or battery operated outdoor lights inside the pumpkins.
Notes
- Carvable foam pumpkins from Amazon.
- The Dollar Store and Michaels Craft Store sometimes has them.
- Home Depot has had very similar ones in the past few years.
- Plastic candy buckets.
- If your pumpkins aren’t able to be carved, decorate them in other ways like paint, flowers, stickers, or even glow in the dark paint.
- Using real pumpkins will cause them to rot faster.
Nicole Gardiner says
Approximately what size are these pumpkins?
Rachel says
Mine are a little wider than plastic pumpkin candy buckets or about 10 wide by 8 high, not including the stem.
Christina says
Love this idea. I plan to try this!
Candy says
Can you explain how you plugged them all in and managed all the cords coming out the back please
Rachel says
Hi Candy! No problem. At first, I put the cords together in a column with zip ties down the back so they weren’t falling all over the place. Of course, we ended up using a pretty hefty multi-plug to plug all of the lanterns in. I wasn’t a big fan of that, but it was the quickest solution. Actually, one of my planned projects, after a similar question from a reader about replacing burned cords on power tools, will be shortening a string of christmas lights for these pumpkins. That will get rid of the multi-plug problem. I hope that helps!