17 Pumpkin Garden Ideas That Will Inspire You [With Pictures]

Ah, pumpkins. Is there a more iconic symbol of fall? These round, orange squashes are a staple in autumn displays and tablescapes, and they're fun to grow, too!

Growing Pumpkins in Your Garden

Creating a pumpkin garden is fairly easy. They do have a few must-haves, however. Warm, moist, well-drained soil is the best environment for a new pumpkin vine to thrive in, and some added compost isn't a bad idea, either. You'll start off with a mound of soil that has 3-5 seeds in it. Make sure each mound has plenty of room around it for the vines to grow. Pumpkin vines spread and sprawl, and each variety needs anywhere from 50 to 100 square feet per mound.

You do have other options that don't need acres upon acres of land if you want a hefty pumpkin crop, however. Pumpkins can also grow in containers, raised beds, and on a trellis. Designing a garden that fits pumpkins well can be tricky, but we have found 18 excellent examples to help you brainstorm your patch. Check out these gardens, and then get planting!

Pumpkin Garden Ideas

1. Tall Trellis

This image is a perfect example of growing a pumpkin garden on a trellis. This is great for a small garden plot, as it gives each vine enough room to stretch out while still making the most of the space available. If using a trellis, though, make sure to either plant a small variety of pumpkin or give each fruit some extra support to help it stay on the vine.

2. Ground Coverage

Sprawling vines are the feature here, and they look lovely! As you can see, the vines take up a lot of room when they start stretching out. There's also a bit of black landscaping fabric peeking through, a great gardening trick to keep weeds away.

3. Grown Pumpkins

These pumpkins are fully grown, and you can see they were some that were allowed the space to stretch out on the ground.

4. Containers With A Trellis

We suggested containment planting earlier, but most of the time you only see smaller varieties of pumpkins planted in them. This ingenious gardener combined both containers and trellises for a larger vine, creating not only an original garden but also a shaded spot to relax in.

5. Surprise Pumpkins

This image shows some pumpkins that grew into a big surprise for a homeowner. They aren't sure where the seeds came from, but the large pumpkins that popped up in their yard were hard to miss. It just goes to show, with the right environment pumpkins are fairly hardy and easy to grow.

6. Green Pumpkin

This is another vine that was allowed to spread out along the ground. You can see the flower, female according to the bulge behind the bloom, that has sprouted. If you look at the soil you can see how dark and rich it is, perfect for pumpkins.

7. Ready for Harvest

These ground-grown pumpkins are ready for Halloween. You can tell from the brown withered vines in the picture that they're done growing and are ready to be picked.

8. Nearly There

As you can see, these pumpkins are quite large. Nearly as big as, if not bigger than, their friend in the vines! If you look closely at the leaves you can see how they're starting to brown around the edges, signifying that they're just about ready for harvesting.

9. New Growth in Containers

This gardener also combined a container and trellis, and their young pumpkin vines are growing green and lush. If you look carefully, you can see a small bud or two growing in.

10. Pumpkin Vine Tunnel

This is a cute idea! This gardener used a raised garden bed to plant their vines. They then added a pair of trellises to let the vines climb up, effectively creating a pumpkin filled tunnel.

11. Pumpkin Arch

This is another fun idea! The gardener used an archway trellis for the vine to climb on, making not only a showstopping entry to the garden but also making it easier on themselves to harvest the pumpkins as they ripen.

12. Growing Green Pumpkin

This pumpkin, although already growing quite big, is still young judging from the bright green and thickness of its vine. And no wonder! You can see hints of the dark, rich soil under the mulch that's used to protect from weeds.

13. Growing in Containers

This vine is planted in a container, but it still has room to spread. It seems happy given the large yellow bloom, and could very well make use of the small trellis nearby soon.

14. Small Garden

This pumpkin vine is growing in a smaller space, but it doesn't seem to be letting that stop it. The straw covering the ground under it will keep it from losing to weeds, as well as making sure the soil stays moist. Its bright green leaves and spreading growth will quickly overtake the space shown here, and the gardener caring for it should have some nice pumpkins before too long.

15. Vine Gone Wild

This picture shows exactly how a pumpkin vine can overtake a garden. This particular plant needed more space, and the area around it was perfect for stretching out into. You can see how it's sharing the trellis with other plants, though it won't allow them the space for too long if it has its way.

16. Growing Away

This vine found space to grow in and wasted no time doing so. You can see from the thick leaves in the back where it's rooted, and then the leaves thin as you move up the vine. Mulch is there to ensure weeds don't take over, but this pumpkin plant looks like it has it handled.

17. Pumpkins on the Vine

These pumpkins have grown over the ground and stretched away from their roots, taking advantage of the space available. You can tell from the browning leaves and vines as well as the few withering flowers that they're almost ready for harvest.

18. Up and Out

This pumpkin vine was another surprise for a homeowner. It's taking advantage of the space around it to stretch out, and the dark soil nearby to gather plenty of nutrients. There are already a few pops of yellow towards the back of the plant, hinting that pumpkins will start forming soon.

Grow Up, Down, and Around

As you can see, pumpkins aren't too picky about how they are grown. You can follow the trellis ideas, like the archway above, or let them grow loose and natural along the ground. Give your pumpkins plenty of love, moisture, and a little TLC to ensure insects don't damage the vines, and you'll have plenty of gorgeous pumpkins for the fall.