Plants, Pumpkins, & Pinot 2025

As we roll into October, there is a change in the air. We have finally reached the temperatures that make things shift in our yards — and in our spirits. The air is crisp because the humidity is lower, and it seems like there’s less haze in the sky, which always leads to that October sunburn. I imagine it must feel this way in parts of Colorado all summer long.

With our nighttime temperatures dipping into the 60s, it takes much longer in the day to get hot — and by the time it does, the temperatures are already beginning to drop again. That’s not all that’s dropping. At home, we’ve been keeping our battery-powered blower on the charger at all times just to keep up with the daily leaf fall.

My dark green Slender Silhouette Sweetgums are usually the first to the dance. They drop gold leaves every day while the entire tree turns bright yellow. Slender Silhouettes grow exactly like Italian cypress — tall and skinny. We lined our road leading to the barn with them, with evergreen arborvitae between each one, so that when the Sweetgums have dropped their skirts, we still have tall, elliptical green all winter long.

It’s a brave thing to line a driveway or road with one type of plant. If you lose one, it’s really hard to find a replacement that matches the others in size. We love the Italian cypress in a line look, but they’ve proved to be unreliable. Just when you get 10 years of growth in a line of Italian cypress, one will decide it’s time to go. Finding a replacement to match a decade of growth is nearly impossible. We’re hoping that since Sweetgums are native here, they’ll be a safer bet. Eight years in, they’re 35 feet tall and only 12 feet in circumference.

Plant breeders are doing a lot of exciting work in the world of elliptical growth habit trees. I was walking around the campus at Mississippi State University, where they’ve done some great plantings. I noticed a slender tulip poplar, Emerald Green arborvitae, two types of columnar oaks, a stunning columnar ginkgo called ‘Gold Spire’ Ginkgo, and my favorite — a Crimson Pointe flowering plum, which we just got in from Monrovia.

The reason breeders are doing so much work with columnar trees is simple: homeowners with smaller yards can go vertical. Slender trees can be planted closer to a house or fence than traditional trees. There are plenty of columnar-growing trees that have been around for years, such as the Blue Arrow juniper, Skyrocket juniper, Pencil Point juniper, and lots of hollies that grow in this shape with very little pruning. Japanese yews can also grow very tall with relatively little width.

Now is the perfect time to start shopping your garden centers as we stock up our tree fields for fall planting.

Years ago, we began to take an interest in the crazy world of ornamental gourds and pumpkins. We used to take an 18-wheeler up to the hills of Tennessee and North Carolina to fill the truck with the wildest gourds we could find.

Now that I know the names of the pumpkins, I can call for what I need and have them trucked in. The produce stands and most of the garden centers have done a fantastic job of keeping Mississippi well-stocked in the pumpkin decorating world.

Jack-o’-lanterns have taken a backseat to the interesting and beautiful different-colored pumpkins. High design magazines use them for both interior and exterior fall décor. Some of the shapes and colors are quite exquisite — almost otherworldly, like something from the coral undersea world.

Stacks of great contrasting colors from pancake-flat, stackable pumpkins can be found everywhere. There’s a red one called Cinderella, a fairytale variety, white ones, blue ones, and a lovely buckskin flat pumpkin. There are giant round white pumpkins called Lumina and round blue pumpkins — either smooth or warty. You’ll also find striped varieties, snake-shaped gourds, birdhouse gourds, miniature pumpkins, and warty wing gourds.

It’s amazing what a creative display can do. I often see people grab three wheat straw bales, a mixture of pumpkins, some bundles of cornstalks, and mums to create wonderful fall displays. The variety of pumpkins available now feels more like a harvest celebration.

Later in October, with the addition of some good old-fashioned orange jack-o’-lanterns, these displays transform into Halloween decorations. Most of the unusual colored pumpkins have thick

rinds, so if the weather stays coolish, they can last until Thanksgiving for a completely different look.

I love seeing families come in this time of year to get great photos with their kids and dogs. We encourage photo takers to arrange the pumpkins however they like to get that perfect shot — maybe even a Christmas card if the photo shoot doesn’t turn into a tear-filled calamity of upset dads and crying children (I’ve seen plenty of that too… and had my turn with it).

Come spend some relaxed time at your favorite place. Bring your pet and check out the totally different feel at Jackson’s garden centers now that fall has taken over our displays. This is when we look our best.

And as always, we’ll be celebrating with our annual Plants, Pumpkins & Pinot event this Friday, October 24th. This year, we’re thrilled to feature The Bill Ellison Trio, one of Jackson’s favorite bluegrass bands.

We’ll have plenty of activities, including a Pumpkin Succulent Station where you can create your own pumpkin decorated with live succulents. We’ll provide all the materials so you can craft, sip, and listen to music in good company.

Influencer Laurel Donahoo (@Laurel @The Hive) will be offering one of her famous charcuterie boards for sampling. We love celebrating fall — and we hope you’ll join us from 4:00 to 7:00 PM Friday evening.