Denver metro

Working with a raised Littleton porch

Littleton's older streets have porches you climb to, and a display built flat on the deck vanishes behind the balustrade. We deliver whole uncarved pumpkins and build upward, so the arrangement reads from the sidewalk below.

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A Colorado porch pumpkin display running the length of a front walk near Littleton.

Porches you climb to

The older blocks near downtown Littleton are full of houses with a proper raised porch, four or five steps up from the walk with a balustrade running along the front. That is the best surface we get to work with anywhere in the metro, and it changes the design completely. Because the porch floor sits above eye level from the sidewalk, anything laid flat on the deck disappears behind the rail. So we build up. The heaviest fruit goes at the top of the steps and along the outer edge where the balusters frame it, smaller pumpkins step down the treads, and the group is arranged to be seen from below rather than from the front door. Hay bales sit at the bottom of the steps, where they widen the base and stop the whole thing looking top heavy.

Balustrades, old boards and what we will not do to them

Historic porches deserve care and we treat them accordingly. We do not tie, screw or wire anything to a balustrade, and we do not lean weight against spindles or rest a pumpkin on a rail. Old porch boards can be soft near the ends and along the drip line, so we spread heavy fruit rather than concentrating it in one spot, and we ask first before setting a jumbo on a deck we cannot see the underside of. Everything sits free, which also means you can lift a piece and move it whenever you want. If your porch has been recently painted, or has original tongue and groove you are protective of, say so when you ask us and we will keep the heavy pieces on the steps and the walk instead.

Two Littletons, two different builds

Not every Littleton customer has a Victorian porch. South and west of the old town the houses are mostly later, single story or two story builds with a modest entry, an attached garage and a flat concrete pad at the door. Those get a different design. Without a raised deck and a rail there is nothing to frame the group, so we build the frame ourselves out of bales and the largest fruit, and we work outward along the front of the house rather than upward. Both approaches use the same three packages. What changes is where the weight sits. If you are not sure which one your house is, send a photo of the front when you ask us and we will tell you what we would do with it before you book.

Mid August to 31 October in Littleton

Our season opens in mid August and ends on 31 October. On a covered Littleton porch you get the best of it, because a roof over the display keeps the worst of the sun and the early snow off, and fruit under cover holds up noticeably better than fruit sitting out on an open walk. If snow does get in and knock the arrangement about, re-staging after snow is one of the services we offer. Two things to know before you book. We never collect the display, so on 1 November it is still yours and it is yours to deal with. And bookings are final, with no refunds, returns or cancellations, so pick your delivery week when you are sure. Littleton is in our Denver metro zone, so there is a $100 delivery charge.

Questions from Littleton

Will anything be attached to my porch railing?

Nothing at all. We do not screw, tie or wire anything to a balustrade, and we do not lean weight on spindles. The display sits free on the deck, the steps and the walk, which means you can move any piece yourself at any point without undoing what we built.

My porch is covered. Does that change what you build?

It helps. A roof keeps sun and early snow off the fruit, so a covered Littleton porch usually holds its display in good condition longer than an open entry does. We can also place taller groups under cover without worrying so much about weather pushing them out of shape.

Can you match the display to a historic color scheme?

Often, yes. If your house has a specific paint scheme and standard orange fights it, the neutral no orange palette is a $75 add on and sits well against the deep greens and reds you see on the older Littleton houses. Tell us the colors when you ask us.