Most Flower Mound natives know about the annual Pumpkin Patch. Every year they come to explore the cartoon character cutouts, hayrides and pick out a pumpkin for the family.
“It’s a tradition of Flower Mound,” receptionist Laurie Perez said. “People all over the Metroplex know Flower Mound because of The Pumpkin Patch.”
Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch owner, Jan Belakian has lived on the corner of 1171 and Flower Mound road for 44 years. As she sat looking over orange glasses frames at the stacks of time cards on her desk in her office, she says it’s just a fraction of the work she had to get done to keep the business running.
The Pumpkin Patch began one summer when Belakian grounded her daughter and made her work out in the garden, growing vegetables for the stall they kept by the road. It ran on the honor system, so whenever someone took something they just left their money in the register.
When Belakian told her daughter she could keep whatever money she made that summer, they decided to go to the farmers market together. They came home with a few pumpkins to scatter around the stand as decoration, but they ended up selling faster than the vegetables.
Although the character cutouts that Jan Belakian makes change annually, the Measuring Scarecrow is not remade. Many families take photos over the years as they revisit The Pumpkin Patch.
“From there it snowballed,” Belakian said. “I never dreamed I’d be doing this for 28 years.”
She started by selling a pickup truckload of pumpkins in her driveway, but today, the event takes an 18 wheeler full of pumpkins and almost all 25 acres of her property to run.
Belakian is proud of their progress and feels like its is successful because of the limited options nearby for family activities.
“You want kids to experience a bit of [the] country life,” Jan said. “There’s so little activities for kids and families at a nominal price.”
Junior Logan Petervay-Lott loves coming to the pumpkin patch every year because he gets to see his younger brother experience the same happiness that he did when he was his age.
“He’s still got that playful innocence so he’s jumping all over everything and having a good time,” Logan said. “It’s cool to watch him have fun.”
Every year he likes to pull his brother around in a little red wagon and watch him pick out a pumpkin to take home.
Belakian wants to be able to give people a fun place to come with the family, without having to spend money every step of the way. Getting into the fair costs $5 on weekdays and $10 on weekends but once inside, everything – from the hayrides to the bouncy houses to the hay maze – is free.
“You can go to Walmart or Kroger and buy a pumpkin for $5 but what you’re getting here is an experience for the family,” Belakian said.
This train is just one of many new additions to the fair this year. Owner Jan Belakian estimates that The Pumpkin Patch brings in around 20,000 people in a weekday.
Every year Belakian tries to improve the fair by buying new activities, new equipment and finding more vendors. This year the Pumpkin Patch partnered with Texas Roadhouse and Belakain was able to purchase two new bounce houses, as well as a small train for the kids to ride.
Senior Jessie Jimenez loves going to the patch because of its family friendly atmosphere.
“[Every year] we would just go and stand in the pumpkins and pick one out to carve Jack-o-Lanterns,” Jessie said.
Belakain is pleased this fair has developed as well as it has.
“I have a family that will come here every year with their 17 and 18 year old kids so they can get their picture made next to the measuring scarecrow,” Belakian said. “Now they probably tower over the 6-foot [mark], but it’s a tradition.”
Belakian is thrilled so many families have made her business a part of their annual fall activities. She feels like she has a God-given talent to work with children and hopes to do this into the foreseeable future.
