the not-so-great pumpkins?

Gargantuan Heights pumpkin pile has some neighbors totally out of their gourd

Pumpkin patch or biohazard?

Image via ABC-13

A massive pumpkin pile in the Heights has neighbors divided: is it a beautiful display or a hazard?

The owner says it's a well-tended part of their urban gardening operation and thinks the city was mistaken in posting a notice stating the spectacle is a bio-hazard.

Homeowner Catherine Woodward says she stopped counting after collecting 900 pumpkins from neighbors and friends to keep them from going to landfills.

"You can see it's a huge volume of organic matter, and in landfills, this builds up as methane, and that is hazardous for the workers there and kind of in general. And I have a garden, and I use compost, and this works really well as compost, so before they go bad, I pile them up in my yard, and I enjoy them, but as they get older and get rotten, I put them in my compost pile, and they feed my garden for the future," Woodward tells ABC-13's Lileana Pearson.

In the mound is a mix of gourds, pumpkins that have been decorated by kids, and even an acorn squash that you find in your grocery store. But on Wednesday morning, she and her brother got a knock on the door from the City of Houston Department of Neighborhoods with a notice saying the pumpkins were a bio-hazard and had to go.

The pumpkin pile on E. 32nd Street in The Heights has caught the eyes of neighbors, who aren't as impressed.

-----

Continue reading this story, with video, on our news partner ABC-13.

This Week's Hot Headlines

2 Houston suburbs declared best places to retire and more top stories

Visit The Woodlands/Facebook

Houston suburbs like The Woodlands offer retirees a good quality of life and affordability.

Editor's note: It's time to catch up on the top Houston news of the week, starting with the best places to retire. Plus, a global favorite for dim sum could be coming to Houston. Read on for our top stories, then plan your Halloween weekend right here.

1. 2 Houston suburbs relax on top-10 list of best U.S. cities to retire. Houston and nine of its suburbs are earning new acclaim on U.S. News and World Report's list of the best U.S. cities for retirees in 2027. And two northern suburbs, The Woodlands and Spring, are resting easy among the top five nationwide.

2. Global dim sum powerhouse Din Tai Fung may finally be coming to Houston. One of the world’s most famous Chinese restaurants could be coming to Houston. Global dim sum powerhouse Din Tai Fung appears to be moving forward with a location in the Galleria.

3. Michelin-rated Houston pitmaster hospitalized with serious medical condition. One of Houston barbecue’s most beloved figures is on the road to recovery after a major medical incident. Quy Hoang, pitmaster and co-owner of Blood Bros. BBQ, suffered a stroke on August 16, his business partner Robin Wong tells CultureMap.

4. Houston restaurant breaks silence about wage theft allegations. A Houston restaurant has broken its silence about a lawsuit that accuses it of wage theft. Relish Restaurant & Bar issued a statement about allegations made by an employee that it improperly allocated money from the restaurant’s tip pool.

Little Bird restaurant campechana Campechana at Little Bird. Courtesy of Little Bird

5. New Orleans-inspired neighborhood restaurant hatches in the Heights. One of this year’s most anticipated new restaurants is opened its doors this week. Little Bird debuted Thursday, October 29.