Pumpkin Arrangements ?

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remus

remus

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Mar 1, 2007
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We were talking in the shop today about getting some more commercial work from say restaurants, and came up with the idea of offering an arrangement in a Pumpkin in the run up to Halloween.
Since Halloween is a big thing on your side on the pond, any tips on the best way to make them.

Do you take out the inside, line the hole with cello then fill with foam ?

Having grown Pumpkins for our shop, I have seen just how quickly they can go off and the mess they make have you had any problems when they have been sent out to customers?
 
We do pumpkin arrangements every year. In fact people start calling first part of Oct. wanting to know when we will have them.

We hollow out the inside and put a plastic liner in, block and flower.

They come out so beautiful. You can do so much with them. Anything from fun and wimzical to elegant.

Have fun.

Don't forget to add "glue cobwebs" when it gets close to halloween!!
 
I use a trick that I learned from another florist.....in addition to some type of liner, spray the inside and outside with a clear varnish to make the pumpkin last longer. They actually sell a spray specifically for pumpkins but it is sometimes hard to find and the clear acrylic spray works just as well.
 
We had major problems when we sent out arrangements in fresh pumpkins. We did a large display for a car dealership and we were called no more than 48h later to come pick them up because everything was infested with fruit flies. We had previously washed down the pumpkins with a bleach mix but it didnt stop those red eyed buggers.
 
ewwwwwwwwww, will british ones have them in, I was thinking of doing some this year but maybe not lol
 
pictures

I would love to see some photos - and what about pricing? If you buy the pumkin, it has to take a while to clean and spray.

and what to do with all those pumpkin guts - I thought my trash was gross already!
 
Try this tip on for size....You can get faux pumpkins made out of stuff similar to bulders styrofoam.....They are CARVEABLE. - All the creativity without the mess. ANd they are so realistic......they can fool at first glance.
 
We also do loads of these...

Cut the top off the pumpkin the size of the liner you are going to insert. Use a large spoon and be sure to scrape All the seeds and membrane out. Be sure to dry out the pumpkin with a cloth, always use a hard liner so yhat when the pumpkins starts to deteriorate they still have a container for the arrangement.

Include a note to let recipient know that it is a fresh pumpkin and to discard when it starts to soften, and to place on a decorative plate or protective disc to protect furniture.

We have been doing these for years, they are great and there is a lot of creative ways to design these. We have only ever had a complaint a few times over years and hundreds of them being delivered.

Never send them out for a customer unless you have informed them.
Enclose the card for the recipient to understand.
Use aprox. 6-7" pumpkins as the larger ones tend to rot quicker.


joan
 
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Vaseline the inside helps keep moisture in and stops drying and rotting I like to make Cinderella carriages out of white ones with,, wheels, heart window, door (TOOTHPICK) that opens and closes ...and of course flowers great for weddings and birthdays..
 
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remus said:
We were talking in the shop today about getting some more commercial work from say restaurants, and came up with the idea of offering an arrangement in a Pumpkin in the run up to Halloween.
Since Halloween is a big thing on your side on the pond, any tips on the best way to make them.

Do you take out the inside, line the hole with cello then fill with foam ?

Having grown Pumpkins for our shop, I have seen just how quickly they can go off and the mess they make have you had any problems when they have been sent out to customers?
Click to expand...
we do pumpkins a little different for our commercial customers.I try to get some good size ones and we embellish them with all types of ribbons,vines and silk fall flowers,like trumpet vine,cosmos.....
They last for ever,don't have to worry about bugs and are really attractive. Customers buy them to put out on the porch with the fall mums.:)
 
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Knife's Wife and Brad give great advice.

Here's a shot of the small pumpkin we deliver in our area:

AG-Halloween-Treat.jpg
 
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Thanks One & All
I have printed off all your tips, will go and cut one & take to the shop on Monday.
Then see what we come up with.
We keep you informed on how we get on

many thanks
 
What to do with the guts and seeds

Here's what to do with the guts and seeds:
Compost the guts... but toast the seeds!

TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS
  • 2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon salt
DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
  2. Spread the pumpkin seeds on a medium baking sheet. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt.
  3. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted.
 
fatcatflowers said:
and what to do with all those pumpkin guts - I thought my trash was gross already!
Click to expand...

Carefully separate the seeds from the rest of the "giblets." Clean and rinse the seeds and then soak them overnight in a strong salt brine solution.

Spread the salted seeds on a cookie sheet and bake them at 350 degrees untill they are crispy. <CAREFUL> They burn easily! They end up like sunflower seeds, but bigger and tastier.

YUM!

Bill
 
We clean the pumpkin out really well, layer it with petroleum jelly to prevent mold and help the pumpkin keep its shape, use cello, then put the foam in. Make sure to let customers know that pumpkins should not be set on a porous surface.
 
We did fresh arr's in real pumpkins for years. The major problem was profitability. When you factor in the time to carve, clean and prep in designer's time, they don't look to value. For stuff like that we figure like a "setup/design fee" of $60 per hr. It takes about 15 min the do the prep work right - that's $15 alone, plus the cost of the pumpkin. Now if you have some cheap laborer that you're paying $7/hr to sweep your floors, than maybe they can carve the pumpkins and it can be profitable.

Just be sure you are picking pumpkins with a FLAT bottom so they don't rock and be sure the liner overlaps the edge. You don't want your customer getting water between the pumpkin and the liner.

We buy the ceramic pumpkins. We want to be codified for the Tel anyway, so I buy about 48 each year. Even with Teleflora's high prices and freight I can still mark up and make a profitable arr. I think a ceramic pumpkin is a better perceived value to your customer and recipient... and no fruit flies! :>

Hills Imports has a lot of the unique non traditional pumpkins (various colors) at reasonable prices if you're looking for non halloween, fall look thats a little more upscale or unique.
 
We do real pumpkins with alot of silk and dried we leave it whole spray the outside with a sealer glue alittle sheet moss on top and glue flowers and such into that and sell alot of them I had one lady that had hers a year later it did not rot!
 
Cathy, I love your pumpkin design. This is off the subject, but how did you get the picture so perfect with the shadows?
Sharon
 
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