I’ve never been one to garden for beauty alone. For years, every square foot had to earn its keep—producing something I can eat, store, or save for seed. In fact, it took nearly a decade before I finally gave up a corner for cut flowers, justified at first as “good for the pollinators,” until I was won over by the beauty and convenience of fresh bouquets.
But fall—now that’s decorating I can get behind. It combines everything I love: the gathering in, the satisfaction of a season’s work, and the promise of rest ahead. Those pumpkins, squash, and grain bundles aren’t just for show—they’re tomorrow’s supper.
When the season ends, I don’t pack my decor away. I cook it, roast it, pop it, or save the seeds for spring. As the display fades, my pantry fills, and the cycle begins again. So if you, like me, enjoy fall décor that’s beautiful, practical, and not the least bit contrived, grab your garden plans and your favorite fall beverage—it’s time to design next year’s cornucopia. (Just kidding. Sort of.)
Pumpkins: The Icons of Fall
Pumpkins have become the unofficial mascot of fall, but long before the plastic jack-o’-lantern took over, they were prized for their usefulness. Every heirloom variety in this group has a job to do—Some produce a candylike, caramelized crust when roasted, others make the smoothest pie filling, and a few even supply the seeds that end up roasted on a cookie sheet. The best part is that each of them is as beautiful as it tasty.
Novelty Pumpkins and Stackers
The so-called “stacker” types—flat, uniform pumpkins that balance easily one atop another—make striking porch displays that hold up beautifully through the season. Long Island Cheese is a classic, with warm buff skin and a shallowly ribbed, wheel-like shape that inspired its name. It’s also a workhorse in the kitchen, known for its dense, sweet flesh that purées smoothly for pies and soups.
Pair it with the cool, slate-blue tones of Jarrahdale, an Australian heirloom that provides both color contrast and outstanding eating quality. Its firm, fine-grained flesh bakes up rich and sweet, perfect for roasting or blending into custards. For deeper color, Moranga—a Brazilian variety with dusty rose skin—adds a warm, rosy hue to any arrangement. And Triamble, a rare three-lobed heirloom from Australia, contributes sculptural interest with its unusual form and firm, bright-orange interior.
Together, these delicious pumpkins offer a balanced mix of tone and texture that looks intentional and natural all at once—proof that a good display can also feed you when the season ends.
Pie Pumpkins
For baking, you can’t do better than the traditional pie pumpkins. Dickinson, the same tan variety used in Libby’s canned pumpkin, is prized for its smooth, rich flesh and muted caramel color that fits right in with fall décor. It’s one of the few pumpkins that offers beauty, impressive size, and top-notch flavor—all at once. Ours averaged 28 pounds each this year. The first one we processed produced 30 cups of sweet, bright orange puree.
The Small Sugar pumpkin, a compact, deep-orange heirloom, is another reliable favorite for both baking and decorating. It holds its shape well, making it ideal for tabletops and centerpieces. Winter Luxury rounds out the group with its softly netted, “sugared” rind and fine-grained, velvety interior—an heirloom so beautiful you’ll want to display it first and bake it later.
Note: While Dickinson can hold its own outdoors, Small Sugar and Winter Luxury are known for being a little delicate. I'd reserve these for indoor decorating where their beauty can be enjoyed longer.
Oilseed Pumpkins
Unlike traditional pumpkins, oilseed types are grown primarily for their hulless seeds, which are easy to roast and high in nutrition. Kakai, a Japanese heirloom, produces striking fruit mottled in shades of green, bronze, and gray—so distinctive it often ends up as décor before anyone remembers to harvest the seeds inside.
The deep orange flesh is also edible, though slightly less sweet than pie types, making it great for soups or savory dishes. When the season’s over, you can scoop the seeds, roast them with a little salt, and enjoy one final harvest from your fall display.
Corn: The Original Harvest Decor
Long before pumpkins took over porches and front steps, corn was the crop that signaled the end of the growing season. For early farmers and Indigenous growers, it wasn’t just food—it was proof that the year’s work had paid off. Braided corn hanging from a rafter or doorway wasn’t decoration in the modern sense; it was a practical way to dry seed and a visible sign that the harvest was home.
Corn still feels like the heart of fall decorating to me. It’s beautiful, useful, and deeply tied to American history. Whether it’s a braid of flint corn hanging by the door or a basket of popcorn ears on the kitchen table, it tells the same story gardeners have been telling for centuries: the season’s work is done, and it’s time to be thankful.
Indian Corn
The old multi-colored “Indian” types are what most of us picture when we think of traditional harvest corn. They’re tough, long-keeping, and undeniably beautiful. Seneca Red Stalker adds drama with dark red stalks and deep burgundy cobs. Cherokee White Eagle stands out for its snowy kernels and the occasional “eagle” pattern that inspired its name. And Rhode Island White Cap Flint is a true New England heirloom—an 1800s variety once used for meal, hominy, and decoration. Early settlers considered it a sign of plenty, and it often appeared at fall gatherings and early Thanksgiving feasts.
Popcorn
Popcorn types make some of the best small-scale decorations because they dry quickly and their ears are just plain fun. Strawberry popcorn forms tight, glossy red ears about two inches long—great for wreaths or bowls. Tom Thumb, a compact 19th-century variety, produces tiny golden ears that dry beautifully. Dakota Black brings striking contrast with its dark, almost black kernels. When the season ends, you can actually pop these—no waste, just a little butter and salt.
Flint Corn
Flint corns have hard, glassy kernels that hold color for months and give any display a polished look. Cateto Orange Flint brings rich golden tones that feel like bottled sunlight. Glass Gem, the variety that made the internet fall in love with heirloom corn, really does look like beads of colored glass. And Gehu Early Yellow Flint, a short-season northern type, offers traditional fall yellows with the bonus of early maturity if you’re growing your own for seed or decoration.
Dent Corn
Dent corns are the classic field types—longer ears, taller plants, and that small “dent” in each kernel once they dry. They may not be as flashy, but they carry a kind of quiet beauty. Wachter’s True Gold is a reliable golden variety that brightens any bundle. Jimmy Red, once nearly lost, adds deep red ears and a great story—it was kept alive by a few South Carolina farmers who valued it for its flavor and moonshine heritage. Oaxacan Green Dent rounds out the trio with an unusual jade-green hue that mixes well with warmer tones in wreaths or table displays.
Sorghum: The Underrated Showstopper
Okay, so we’ve covered the basics. Of course, everyone thinks of pumpkins and corn when it comes to fall displays—but in this next section, we’re going a little outside the box. Odds are, sorghum is a crop you’ve never grown. But once you do—and better yet, once you decorate with it—you’ll wonder why you hadn’t planted it sooner.
Sorghum makes absolutely stunning dried bouquets. You can mix it with dried flowers or use it by itself for a large, dramatic display. The seed heads come in a range of colors and forms to suit any style, from rustic to refined. It can be used outdoors, but be warned—birds and mice love it. If you’re planning to save the grain for eating or seed, you might want to keep your arrangements indoors.
Milo or Grain Sorghum
Grain sorghum, often called milo, produces compact, seed-heavy heads that dry beautifully for indoor arrangements. The heads can be glossy red, bronze, cream, or white, depending on the variety, and they hold their color remarkably well through winter.
Wheatland is a dependable choice for both form and function, producing uniform, brick-red heads that look great in mixed bundles. White Popping, as its name suggests, is dual-purpose—it can be popped like popcorn or used as a subtle, pale accent in arrangements where you want something a little lighter. Both store well, and both can double as chicken feed or homegrown grain once their decorative duties are done.
Cane Sorghum
If you’ve ever seen a jar of old-fashioned sorghum syrup, this is the crop it came from. Cane sorghum varieties are tall, graceful plants with glossy, seed-topped canes that shimmer in sunlight. Their seed heads are typically looser and more open than grain sorghum, giving them an airy, natural texture that pairs beautifully with dried grasses or strawflowers.
Mennonite, Sumac, and Sugar Drip are three of the best-known heirlooms in this group. All three are excellent for making sweet sorghum syrup if you’re so inclined, and also produce a good quantity of round, starchy seeds that are suitable for grinding into flour.
Broomcorn
Technically a type of sorghum, broomcorn produces long, flexible seed branches rather than tight clusters, which is what makes it so useful—yes, even today—for making brooms. Its sweeping form also makes it a favorite for large arrangements, door bundles, or wreaths.
Multicolor Broomcorn is just what it sounds like—a mix of bronze, cream, and burgundy heads that lend a painterly look to any display. Hungarian Red produces deep garnet seed heads that look almost velvety when dried, while Hadley’s T115 Broomcorn, an old commercial strain, is prized for its long, straight fibers and reliable standability. Used alone, broomcorn makes a bold, dramatic statement; mixed with pumpkins or millet, it becomes the perfect backdrop for the rest of your fall décor.
Winter Squash: The Unsung Beauties
A small fact that might surprise a few people—pumpkins are technically winter squash. But in this section, we’re focusing on the squash that aren’t shaped like pumpkins. These are the fruits you’ll most often find on the dinner table rather than the porch steps—but that needn't be so. From large, long-keeping baking types to richly colored roasters and smaller “single-serving” varieties, every one of them brings both beauty and practicality to fall decorating.
Baking Types
The larger baking squash have a way of grounding any display. Their size, shape, and rugged rinds make them natural focal points in baskets, crates, or grouped at the base of a porch display. And when the season ends, their sweet, dense flesh turns into some of the best baked squash you’ll ever eat.
New England Hubbard is one of the most recognizable—large, rough-skinned, and deeply traditional. Its slate-blue to gray-green rind pairs beautifully with caramel-toned pumpkins, and its bright orange interior is rich, dry, and flavorful. Green Striped Cushaw, on the other hand, brings a touch of whimsy. Its long, curving neck and pale green striping make it eye-catching in any arrangement. It’s also a fantastic baking squash—mild, sweet, and excellent in pies or casseroles. Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck, with its elongated, curved neck and smooth tan skin, combines visual interest with versatility. The thick neck is nearly all usable flesh, making it both a decorator’s dream and a cook’s delight.
Roasters
The roaster types—long, cylindrical squash that can stretch two to three feet—aren’t the easiest to arrange, but they more than make up for it with color and character. They look best in large baskets, wheelbarrows, or tucked among other pumpkins and gourds where their shape can add movement and contrast.
North Georgia Candy Roaster is one of the prettiest, with its soft pink rind and gentle curve. It’s also exceptionally sweet and smooth, perfect for roasting or puréeing. Pink Banana lives up to its name—long, slender, and salmon-colored, it’s impressive both on display and in the kitchen. Its flesh is deep orange and lightly sweet, ideal for soups or baked dishes. For something cooler-toned, Guatemalan Blue Banana adds a powdery blue hue to any display, a nice counterpoint to orange and tan pumpkins. Its flavor is mild and nutty, and it roasts beautifully.
Acorns, Butternuts, and Delicata—Oh My!
Smaller winter squash are some of the most rewarding to grow and decorate with. They’re easy to handle, store, and arrange, and when the decorating season ends, they transition seamlessly to the dinner table.
Among the acorn types, Gill’s Golden Pippin stands out for its golden-orange skin and compact size, perfect for small arrangements or even tabletop centerpieces. Bush Table Queen is classic deep green and easy to grow in limited space. Sweet Dumpling, with its creamy white skin and green striping, is almost too pretty to eat—but you should, because its flavor is sweet and rich. And Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato, with its smooth beige skin and exceptional flavor, offers a warm, heirloom look that pairs beautifully with tan pumpkins.
The butternuts—Honeynut, Waltham Butternut, and Butterbush—all have that classic elongated shape and warm buff color that works in nearly any display. Honeynut, in particular, has become a modern favorite for its compact size and intense sweetness.
And of course, the delicata deserves its own mention. With cream-colored skin and green stripes, it looks ornamental but tastes exceptional—sweet, nutty, and best roasted whole or halved. Grouped together, these smaller squash varieties bring color, form, and function to fall decorating—beauty you can eat when the season winds down.
Sunflowers: The Harvest Crowns
If you’re not fond of the way sunflowers look after they’ve finished blooming, here’s one more reason to leave them standing—beyond the fact that you can roast the seeds or feed them to the chickens. The dried heads, especially from the giant, towering types, make excellent fall décor. Just look at the one above perched on a ladder-back chair with some broomcorn—simple and striking.
A mix of varieties can add both beauty and utility to your garden. Black Mammoth and Mammoth Grey Stripe produce huge heads that dry beautifully and yield plenty of seed for roasting or sharing with birds. Peredovik, a traditional oilseed variety, offers dark centers and compact heads that fit easily into indoor displays. And while Chocolate Cherry won’t still be blooming by fall, its rich, rusty petals make it a lovely midsummer preview of the season ahead—and it finishes with a substantial seed head worthy of drying.
You could spend fifty dollars online for a single artificial sunflower head, or you could turn what’s essentially a byproduct of your garden into something useful and beautiful. Roast the seeds in your favorite seasoning blend, tuck a few into jars for gifts, and enjoy the satisfaction of décor that continues to give long after the blooms are gone.
Beans and Cowpeas: Timeless Tokens
Dried beans and cowpeas might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of fall decorating, but they’re a quiet way to bring color and pattern indoors while celebrating another piece of the harvest. Once shelled and dried, their speckled seeds look like natural confetti—each variety a different shape and shade.
My mother-in-law likes to dry her shelling beans in wide, flat baskets right on her dining table. Every night, or whenever she feels like it, she sits down and shells out a few pods. The look is so natural—a work in progress that feels timeless. I can’t help but imagine families doing that same thing a hundred years ago, baskets on the table, the air filled with the soft sound of beans falling into a bowl. There’s a calmness in that kind of simple, useful beauty.
You can recreate that same look easily: display beans and cowpeas in shallow bowls, glass jars, or baskets. Christmas Lima beans, with their maroon swirls, and Whippoorwill cowpeas, mottled tan and brown, bring rich pattern. The Hutterite Soup Bean adds a soft neutral tone, while the historic Succotash bean—reported to have been grown by the Wampanoag and served at the first Thanksgiving—adds a note of living history to the mix. When the season’s over, they move from decoration to dinner—or seed stock for next year’s planting—no waste, no fuss, just beauty that works.
Shop Beans and Cowpeas
Dried Onions and Shallots: The Golden Keepers
Few things capture the feeling of a full harvest like a basket of cured onions or shallots. Once pulled and properly dried, they develop that familiar papery skin and warm, golden glow that make them look just as good in a bowl as in the pantry. You can pile them high in a wooden crate, line them up on a counter, or mix them into a centerpiece with squash and herbs for a look that’s both rustic and refined.
Storage onions and small shallots hold up for months when cured, and their colors alone—copper, gold, rose, and red—add visual richness to any display. Yellow Sweet Spanish onions, with their broad, golden skins and mild, sweet flavor, are a timeless favorite for both cooking and decorating. Among the most striking are Zebrune shallots, with their long, elegant shape and rose-gold skins that gleam in low autumn light. Their subtle color bridges beautifully between tan pumpkins and green acorn squash, and of course, they’re delicious once their decorating duties are done.
Garlic: Braided Beauties
Garlic is one of those crops that blurs the line between utility and ornament. Once cured, the heads can be braided or bunched, hung from a beam, or arranged in a basket where their papery white skins catch the light. For braiding, Inchelium Red, a softneck variety from Washington State, is a favorite. Its supple stems make for easy braiding, and the bulbs themselves are streaked with blush tones that add warmth to a fall kitchen.
For display or storage in loose bunches, German Extra Hardy—a classic hardneck type—fits the bill. Its sturdy stalks and plump, ivory cloves give it a solid, substantial look, and it keeps well through winter when cured properly. Hang a braid of softnecks near the window and keep a basket of hardnecks on the counter, and you’ll have a display that looks timeless and feeds you all season long.
Dried Peppers: Resilient Ristras
If your fall décor needs a pop of color, look no further than dried peppers. Few things brighten a kitchen like a string of glossy red pods catching the afternoon light. Once dried, they hold their color for months and add rustic warmth that’s equal parts farmhouse and Mediterranean market.
My mother-in-law—Seeing a trend? The woman's basically Martha Stewart—hangs strings of peppers from the hood over her stove. They look beautiful all winter. When she needs to make chili powder, they're right at hand (a coffee grinder works well for this task.)
Long, brick-red Guajillo peppers are among the best for this purpose, drying smooth and glossy with a mild heat. Rezha Macedonian, with its wrinkled skin and vivid scarlet color, adds drama, while Aci Sivri and Tatli Sivri from Turkey bring graceful lines and variety. For small, fiery accents, Besparmak and Rooster Spur (a Tabasco type) make strings that look like bright red beads—beautiful in the kitchen and handy all winter long.
Dried Herbs: Fragrant Bundles
Herbs might not have the bold colors of pumpkins or peppers, but they bring something just as valuable to fall décor—texture, fragrance, and quiet charm. Once dried, their muted greens and silvers pair beautifully with the richer tones of squash and grain. Bundled and tied with twine, they lend a soft, natural look that feels right at home in kitchens, pantries, or on the porch beside baskets of produce.
You can tie herbs in small bundles and hang them from beams or hooks, mix them among other harvest crops, or display them in mason jars with zinc lids for a clean, old-fashioned look. Thyme and oregano dry beautifully and add soft color and fragrance to fall displays, while tea and medicinal herbs can be handled much the same way. We collect a fair number for winter teas, and the sight of them hanging to dry in late summer is always a comfort. Some of my favorites include lavender hyssop, lemon balm, holy basil, and chamomile—herbs that look beautiful, smell wonderful, and remind me that a little summer can be brewed back to life in the depths of winter.
Conclusion: Don't Box It—Bake It.
The season's end doesn't have to spell the end of your decor's usefulness. With edible decor, you can continue to enjoy your fall decorations all winter long. It's a tradition that is as old as human history, one that invites real gratitude for the garden's plenty and thankfulness for the season of rest that lies ahead. So, as you're planning next year's garden, be sure to plant a few things that will look as beautiful on the porch as they do in the pantry. Next fall, you'll be glad you did.
Ready to get started? Check out our full selection of heirloom vegetable seeds. You never know what kind of beauty awaits.
