Dallas Arboretum Displays Record Number of Pumpkins

See the state of Texas depicted in pumpkins and have lots more fall fun in Dallas this season.

While pumpkin spice lattes tend to get all the buzz during the fall season, it’s always a good idea to take a jaunt to a real pumpkin patch and explore where those flavors come from. If you call Texas home or happen to find yourself in the state, then don’t miss an oversized take on the traditional patch: The Dallas Arboretum’s Pumpkin Village.

Part of the Autumn at the Arboretum festival, the village includes a record number of pumpkins this year — 75,000 if you’re counting. That’s not to mention 52 different varieties of pumpkins, gourds and squash represented, the majority coming from Pumpkin Pyle farm in Floydada to the west.

The village includes the Tom Thumb Pumpkin Patch, where pumpkins are available for purchase, an Old Texas Town, the Great Pumpkin Search and a hay bale maze. Houses constructed out of pumpkins, straw and hay in the Texas Town are one of the biggest draws.

“Each pumpkin is hand placed by a member of the horticulture staff,” says Terry Lendecker, vice president of advertising and promotion at the arboretum. “We currently have about 50 people on our horticulture staff who helped — from designing, ordering and coordinating to unloading, constructing and decorating.”

The Pumpkin Village has a different theme each year, and in keeping with a Texas theme that began in the spring, the arboretum will display a new mosaic in the shape of the state of Texas — made entirely of pumpkins.

“As we say, ‘everything is bigger in Texas,’ says Arboretum Vice President Dave Forehand. “This is a record-breaking number for the Arboretum’s autumn display, so it is only fitting to recreate an Old Texas Town in the Pecan Grove.”

Test your pumpkin prowess by participating in The Great Pumpkin Search, a photo scavenger hunt of all the varieties of pumpkins, gourds and squash on display in the gardens. Lendecker says she loves to see the reactions of the guests as they experience the displays, voted one of “America’s Best Pumpkin Festivals” by Fodor’s Travel in 2014.

“The Pumpkin Village is truly a one of a kind exhibit that you will not see in any other botanic garden,” she adds.

The attraction is open through November 25, and general admission is $15.

All photos courtesy of the Dallas Arboretum.