How Many Pumpkins Are Too Many Pumpkins?

Dallas has assembled more than 100,000 of them, so apparently we're going to find out.

Okay.

By now, it has been a full fall fest over here.

We've admired leaves. We've gone wandering through autumn destinations. We've discussed places where fall color practically becomes a national event.

So I have to ask:

Are you all over your pumpkin lattes yet?

Because I have one more.

And this time, we're going BIG.

Like 100,000-pumpkins-big.

And of all places for gourds?

Dallas, Texas.

I know. 😂

Apparently Dallas does fall too

Every year, the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden holds Autumn at the Arboretum, transforming its gardens into an enormous celebration of the season.

For 2026, more than 100,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash are filling the garden from September 19 through November 1.

Pause there.

One hundred thousand.

At some point, somebody had to order those.

I would very much like to have heard that phone call.

But here's where this year's version gets especially cool.

Pumpkins, but make them art

The 2026 theme is Harvest Hues, and instead of creating your standard hay-bale-and-scarecrow pumpkin extravaganza, the Arboretum is using its Pumpkin Village to interpret the work of modern and contemporary artists.

There are six Pumpkin Houses, with inspiration coming from artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mark Rothko, Louise Bourgeois, Piet Mondrian, M.C. Escher, Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner.

So imagine Mondrian's blocks of color...

built out of pumpkins.

Pollock's chaos...

interpreted through gourds.

And a giant spindly spider inspired by Louise Bourgeois...

sitting on top of a pumpkin house.

Now we're talking.

This is no longer a pumpkin patch.

This is what happens when somebody asks, “But what if we REALLY committed?”

And this is exactly why Beauty Beyond exists

Sometimes beauty is quiet.

It's a sunrise you almost miss through the blinds.

It's leaves changing on a road nobody told you to drive down.

It's sitting somewhere with a cup of coffee and realizing the light looks particularly good that morning.

And sometimes?

Beauty is 100,000 pumpkins yelling orange at you.

I support both.

Because the whole point of Beauty Beyond is simply to notice more.

To look around this gigantic, strange, beautiful world and occasionally say:

Wait. Somebody MADE that?

Harvest Hues feels like one of those places.

Color. Pattern. Texture. Scale. Art. Nature. Pure seasonal ridiculousness.

Your eyes are getting quite the workout here.

And I absolutely love that.

If you're anywhere near Dallas this fall...

Autumn at the Arboretum: Harvest Hues runs the month of October at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. The garden is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with admission varying depending on the day.

And yes, they even have select Pumpkins & Pints evenings in October where you can wander the Pumpkin Village after hours with beer, wine and bites available.

Because apparently after acquiring 100,000 pumpkins, someone wisely said:

You know what this needs? Drinks.

Correct. No notes.

Plan a visit to Autumn at the Arboretum

So there you have it.

We've officially reached peak fall.

How many pumpkins are too many pumpkins?

I still don't know.

But if anyone is willing to conduct the experiment with 100,000 of them, I respect the commitment.

🎃