How to Make a Whimsical Outdoor Pumpkin Tower

This past weekend I did a thing. I created a pair of totally adorable pumpkin towers in front of my house. Well, I think they’re adorable anyway. And I shouldn’t say that I created them all by myself because hubby helped and got me started. We made two towers of pumpkins that were super easy to construct and went up pretty fast. So today I’m sharing how to make your own whimsical outdoor pumpkin tower because I think everyone should have one – or two or more!

You’ve probably seen two or three pumpkins stacked on top of each other, but what about a six-foot tower of these colorful gourds? We made a 5-foot and 6-foot tower to use as fall decorations in front of our house. We added a couple of gourds and a large mum to complete the display. You could also add haybales and cornstalks.

A friend asked me if I attached the pumpkins together or if I simply stacked them and hoped the wind doesn’t knock them over. I’d be more concerned about squirrels causing them to tumble than the wind. Fortunately, the pumpkins are steady because a piece of rebar runs through them and into the ground. They’re not going anywhere!

Look carefully and you’ll find that you can’t even see the rebar between the pumpkins, so it looks like they’re balancing precariously on top of each other. I removed the stems off each pumpkin except the top one. To break the stems off quickly, tap the the stems with a hammer. They’ll often come off in one tap. You could also cut the stems off with a small saw.

I spied a charming gourd in the pumpkin patch and thought it would make a cute top. And that’s half the fun of making a pumpkin tower – choosing your pumpkins. Select a range of colors, sizes, and maybe even toss in a warty pumpkin. Lucky for me, I found a roadside pumpkin stand in the country where every pumpkin is $5 regardless of size, shape, or color. This saved me quite a bit of money as large pumpkins sell for around $15 where I live.

Once you have your pumpkins and removed the stems but all from the top pumpkin(s), drill a hole in the top and bottom of the pumpkin and slide it onto the rebar pipe. Because the center of the pumpkins are soft, you don’t need to drill all the way through the pumpkin. You just need to do a bit of maneuvering to line up the top hole once the rebar is through the bottom hole. Detailed instructions are at the end of this post.

You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to create a pumpkin tower. We purchased a 10-foot piece of rebar and sawed it into two pieces, 5.5′ and 4’5 feet. You can use a sledgehammer to sink the rebar into the ground at least one foot to create stability. If you’re going to make a taller tower, I’d sink the rebar a bit further.

I was thrilled with the way the pumpkin towers turned out. It was a fun and quick project and makes quite a statement piece in front of the house. If any of the pumpkins start to rot, they’re easily replaceable. Next on my list – pumpkin people! Stay tuned for those. I hope to make them this weekend.

Here’s detailed instructions to make your own whimisical tower of pumpkins!

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