'They're giant and they're gorgeous,' says Brant resident who accidentally grew 167 pumpkins
CBC
Every time Chris Paul Farias stepped into their backyard this summer, the hundreds of pumpkin plant "friends" curling around trellises, up fences and across neighbouring trees never ceased to amaze.
To an extent, the Brant County resident knew what they were getting into with this year's gardening project. They'd planted about 100 pumpkin seedlings of different varieties in the spring, eager to "let nature work it out" and see what they could grow.
"I get so depressed this time of year so I was like, 'let's fill that up,'" Farias said.
"It totally worked."
But then Farias said they began to notice pumpkin plants popping up where they hadn't planted any.
They realized on top of the seedlings, they'd also unintentionally scattered dozens of other pumpkin seeds they'd tried to compost last year that were now taking root.
Their husband suggested they pull some of the plants out, but Farias said they'd already fallen in love.
"They have like Jurassic leaves," Farias said. "They're giant and they're gorgeous and they attract so many bees because of their flowers. And I was like, 'that's so beautiful.'"
WATCH: Chris Paul Farias shows off their pumpkin garden
Plus, they had already amassed thousands of viewers eager for regular updates on TikTok, where they go by Chris Paul Rainbows.
Their pumpkin-related videos had nearly three million views, they said.
"It just turned into every day I would go out and I was like, 'Oh my God,' the amount they grow is crazy," Farias said.
"They were growing up my roof. They turned my raised garden into this beautiful house covered with giant leaves that I could go in to just relax."
Farias also released 1,500 aphid-eating ladybugs into their garden to help protect their pumpkins from the pests.