Meet the Pumpkins: A Guide to the Varieties on Your Porch

Have you ever looked at one of our pumpkin displays and wondered, What is that one called?

One of our favorite things about creating a Blue Cottage Porch display is that no two pumpkins—and no two porches—are exactly alike. We use a combination of traditional orange pumpkins, crisp whites, charming heirloom shapes, tiny decorative varieties and a few wonderfully weird ones to create all those layers of color, shape and texture.

So, allow us to introduce you to some of the stars of the show!

🎃 Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins

The Classic

When you picture a pumpkin, this is probably the one you see.

Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins are the quintessential fall pumpkin: bright orange, round to slightly oval, with the classic ribbed sides and sturdy stem we all associate with October.

We use both large and medium Jack-O-Lanterns throughout our displays. Their gorgeous orange color provides the traditional fall foundation, while mixing the different sizes helps us create height and dimension.

Why we love them: Nothing says fall quite like a big orange pumpkin. They provide the classic color that ties the entire display together.

Look for: Bright orange skin, traditional pumpkin shape and prominent ribs.

🤍 Lumina Pumpkins

The Beauty in White

These are usually the pumpkins that make people stop and ask, “What kind is THAT?”

Luminas are beautiful white pumpkins that provide a striking contrast against all that traditional fall orange. Their skin ranges from bright white to creamy ivory, while their shape is generally round with subtle ribbing.

They're especially beautiful on darker brick, stained wood and colorful front doors, but honestly—we haven't found many porches where a white pumpkin doesn't look good.

Why we love them: Contrast! Tucking white pumpkins among the oranges instantly makes a display feel more layered and designed.

Look for: Smooth white or creamy skin and a classic rounded pumpkin shape.

👑 Cinderella Pumpkins

The Fairytale Pumpkin

Yes, there's a reason they're called Cinderella pumpkins.

With their flattened shape and deep, dramatic ribs, these beauties look remarkably like the pumpkin you might expect a fairy godmother to turn into a carriage.

The pumpkin commonly known as Cinderella is the French heirloom Rouge Vif d'Étampes. Its rich color can range from orange to a deeper reddish-orange, and its wonderfully squat shape makes it completely different from a traditional Jack-O-Lantern.

Why we love them: That shape! Cinderellas bring an unmistakable heirloom feel to a display and their wide, flattened bodies make them wonderful for creating layers.

Look for: A squat, flattened pumpkin with very deep ribs and rich orange to reddish-orange coloring.

🌿 Exotic & Heirloom Pumpkins

The Show-Offs

This is where things get really fun.

Depending on the harvest, we incorporate a changing assortment of unusual and

heirloom-style pumpkins into our displays. You may see pumpkins in shades of blue-green, sage, peach, cream, pale yellow and muted orange. Some are deeply ribbed. Some are wonderfully bumpy. Others are so oddly shaped that they're almost too interesting to call pumpkins. And that's precisely why we want them.

Our selection can vary because pumpkins are an agricultural product. Mother Nature ultimately gets a say in what is available each season, so the exotic mix on your porch may be a little different from the one next door.

We think that's part of the fun.

Why we love them: These are the pumpkins that give a Blue Cottage Porch display its personality. Their unusual colors, textures and shapes break up the traditional orange and make the entire arrangement more interesting.

Look for: Anything unusual! Muted colors, deep ribs, interesting textures and unexpected shapes.

🧡 Sweetie Pies

The Little Guys

Not every pumpkin needs to be enormous to make an impact.

Our Sweetie Pies are the smaller pumpkins and gourds we use to fill those important little spaces between their much bigger cousins.

They add another scale to the display and give us the freedom to tuck color and texture exactly where we need it. Think of them as the finishing touches—the little pumpkins that make a big arrangement feel abundant.

And, frankly, they're just cute.

Why we love them: Sweetie Pies fill gaps, create layers and help us carry color throughout the entire display.

Look for: Smaller pumpkins and decorative gourds in a variety of fall colors, shapes and textures.

🍂 Mini Pumpkins & Gourds

The Finishing Touches

In our largest displays, we take the layering one step further with an assortment of miniature pumpkins and gourds.

These little beauties may be orange, white, green, striped, speckled, smooth or wonderfully bumpy. Their job isn't to command the whole porch. Instead, they're scattered among the larger pumpkins to fill small openings and make the finished arrangement feel lush and overflowing.

They're also often the pumpkins our youngest customers notice first.

Why we love them: They add those last tiny pops of color and texture that make a large display feel finished from top to bottom.

Look for: Tiny pumpkins and gourds in practically every shape, color and texture imaginable.

assortment

🎃 Jumbo Prize Pumpkins

The Big Guys

And then there are the giants.

Our grandest Cinderella package includes Jumbo Prize Pumpkins—the oversized pumpkins that immediately give a large entryway the scale and presence it needs.

These aren't background players. They're statement pumpkins.A large porch can easily overwhelm ordinary pumpkins, so we use these oversized beauties as visual anchors and build layers of smaller pumpkins around them.

Why we love them: They create instant drama and give expansive porches and entryways a focal point.

Look for: The pumpkin that makes you say, “How did they get that thing onto my porch?”

Why So Many Different Pumpkins?

Because that's what makes the magic happen. A beautiful pumpkin display isn't simply a collection of pumpkins lined up across a porch. We think about scale, shape, color, texture and placement.

A big Jack-O-Lantern might provide height. A squat Cinderella creates a completely different silhouette beside it. A white Lumina breaks up all the orange. An unusual heirloom adds a soft, unexpected color. Then the Sweetie Pies and minis sneak into the little spaces and pull everything together.

Individually, they're beautiful pumpkins. Together, they become a Blue Cottage Porch.

And because pumpkins are grown—not manufactured—every season brings something a little different. Colors, shapes, sizes and exotic varieties will naturally vary based on the harvest and availability.

So when your pumpkins arrive this fall, take a closer look. See if you can spot the Jack-O-Lanterns, Luminas, Cinderellas, Sweetie Pies and maybe a few unusual characters you weren't expecting.

Now you'll know who's who. 🎃