What I was expecting Friday was a big crowd at Whole Foods. I was on my own for the weekend (hubby out of town), so the plan was to buy lots of ‘girl food’ to tide me over for the weekend.

What I didn’t expect was to be floored by the gorgeous display of pumpkins and gourds outside. Yes, it’s September and it’s finally cooling down in Tulsa, but fall is still a shock to the system down here.

The natural colors of all these gorgeous pumpkins helped me understand the origins of great design: Taking cues from the natural, or in some cases genetically altered, colors of horticulture.

I love the gray-blue, off-white and orange color palette. It’s a subtle way to celebrate fall. I’m thinking of these colors for several rooms in the house. First, is this gorgeous use of subtle blues with muted oranges.

Image via House Beautiful

These blue-gray Hubbard pumpkins are outrageous! I wanted to grab dozens of these beauties, until I realized that I needed to use my money for actual groceries.

The brighter orange against the blue looks beautiful in this bedroom. A nice way to use color but still feel relaxed.

Image via Pinterest from The Glitter Guide

These bumpy beauties have great texture. I could have piled all of them in my trunk.

Adding texture with unexpected accessories is a nice way to build layers. I love this garden stool — a pair would look great in my living room.

Image via Pinterest from Inside Avenue

And finally, probably my favorite pumpkin combo of the lot: Cinderella and Ghost pumpkins. The fun shape of the orange pumpkins look like a real fairy tale, and the albino white gourds are already sitting on my front porch.

All this talk of fall makes me happy. I’ll need a pretty coat to wear in the wind and drizzle, like this one:

Image via French Connection