With their bright colors and intricate shapes, decorating with pumpkins at this time of year has been elevated beyond carving and painting at Myriad Botanical Gardens. Local artists and our horticultural staff have created a series of murals made of a large variety of pumpkins and gourds.

These intricate and creative, large-scale designs have taken shape during the last several weeks and will be unveiled for the Great Pumpkin Patch presented by OG+E beginning Friday, Oct. 16. This event is designed as a safer alternative to the always-popular Pumpkinville this year only due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Pose for fall photos in front of these fun and festive works on the Devon Lawn, the Water Stage, and in the Children’s Garden, and learn about the many types of pumpkins and gourds in each. 

Fall Leaves

Designed by Nick Bayer

Located on the Water Stage

Nick Bayer is the owner of Createco Studios and has been working in Oklahoma City for 15 years. Createco Studios creates custom fabrications ranging from 3D props to large scale murals. His installations can be found at Science Museum Oklahoma, the City of Oklahoma City, and the City of Bethany. Bayer has been a professor of art at Redlands Community College in El Reno.

The Fall Leaves mural features 20 pallets of pumpkins. The maple leaf is the largest in the mural and has the most orange. The oak leaf is the long, narrow leaf with points. The two smaller leaves are elm. The redbud is the heart-shaped leaf and the multiple leaf stem is the Chinese pistache.

Chameleon

Designed by Matt Goad

Located on the Devon Lawn

Oklahoma artist Matt Goad began his art career while working as a graphic designer and illustrator in the mid-90s. Woodblock printing and its hard-edged graphic aesthetic helped inform Goad’s modern style which he would take into the realm of paintings in the mid-2000s. Passionate about color and composition, his modern linear approach utilizes interlocking identifiable symbols and shapes in a compositional flow that pulls the viewer through a narrative. Whimsical, geometric, simple, and complex, Goad’s work is easily accessible to the public and enjoyed by many, young and old, and across cultural identities.

Moo Loves You

Designed by Lisa Quishenberry and her son Casey Quishenberry

Lisa Quishenberry has been working as an artist since 1998. She began working as a sign designer at Six Flags amusement parks and continues doing work for Frontier City Amusement Park. In addition, Quishenberry has done fun and exciting projects for Science Museum Oklahoma, the Jim Thorpe Office Building and more. Her son, Casey, served as her assistant for this installation. Working with pumpkins was a new medium for her and she loved it!

The following were designed and built by Nate Tschaenn, Director of Horticulture

Nate Tschaenn came to Myriad Botanical Gardens as curator of the Crystal Bridge Conservatory and was promoted to director of horticulture in 2016. He is a graduate of the prestigious Longwood Gardens program in Delaware and was a glasshouse specialist at Cleveland Botanical Garden. During his tenure at the Gardens, Tschaenn has developed a skill for building horticultural exhibits and owns A New Leaf Wood Turning which creates products made of locally sourced wood.

Monarch

Located in the Devon Lawn

Spider

Located in the Devon Lawn

Black Cat

Located in the Children’s Garden

Scarecrow

Located in the Devon Lawn