We Talk To The Owner Of The World’s Most A List Pumpkin Patch (Seriously)

For 11 months of the year if you want to see a celebrity in real life you could stand at the barriers of a premiere in Leicester Square, try and get a table at the Chiltern Firehouse or perhaps, if you're really desperate, lurk around Primrose Hill. But in October if you want to see a star in their natural habitat, go and pick up a pumpkin. The only problem is you'll need to book a flight to Los Angeles first.

Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in West Hollywood is the red carpet of the Halloween season. Yes it has valet parking and a pap pit. While you pretend to look like you're 'hunting for the perfect pumpkin', you'll be able to spot many A Listers. The A List attendees at Mr Bones include North West, Harry Styles, Kourtney Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Heidi Klum and Chloe Moretz. If only the pumpkin aisle in our local Tescos had such a starry clientele, eh?

So what is so special about the Mr Bones Pumpkin Patch, you ask? Well we spoke to the owner Lyra Marble to find out how a pumpkin patch turned into a celebrity magnet...

When did your family create the pumpkin patch?

Lyra: 'My mother created the Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in 1987. Yes, the pumpkin patch is a labor of love. My mother designs our characters and creates all of our props in her workshop, in her barn in Oregon. I handpick all our pumpkins and work with small farmers throughout the year to bring Mr. Bones to life in October.'

When did celebrities first start coming?

Lyra: 'Celebrities have always come to Mr. Bones. Honestly, they were many of our first customers. Our original location was just on the other side of Beverly Hills, and we were the neighborhood patch to many of the biggest celebrities. When we moved to our current location in West Hollywood, what changed was suddenly there was paparazzi everywhere and so people from all over began to hear about us and come to our little neighborhood pumpkin patch.'

Why do you think has turned into such a celebrity spot?

Lyra: 'Because they live so close to us and because they're creative people and Mr. Bones is a sweet beautiful place to be that treats everyone equally and honors the child and the child's perspective. The celebrities who come here for the most part are parents, and like all parents they want to give their kids the best experience they can.'

Which star who visited got the most attention?

Lyra: 'This year J. Lo got the most attention. This is LA so for the most part people try to be discrete and just let her do her thing, but the number of photographers was amazing. There were at least 70. It was a full time job for my staff and security.'

You now have a paparazzi section - why did you decide to do this?

Lyra: 'We decided to created a section for the photographers reluctantly. We began by keeping them out and protecting the celebrities from the media while they enjoyed Mr. Bones. But, there would be photographers on roofs, in neighbour's yards, standing on cars, hanging from the trees. It was a real scene. The City threatened me, they let me know that they wouldn't allow Mr. Bones back because of the nuisance the paparazzi created in the neighborhood. So in the end, I decided to make the best out of the situation that is. Both the photographers and the celebrities wanted to be at Mr. Bones, so I created a pen to hold the photographers. The good, professional well-behaved guys get their shots, the celebrities have a good time and everyone's safe. It's a fine balancing act, but now everyone knows the rules and what to expect.

Do celebrities pre arrange visits or just turn up?

Lyra: 'Most celebrities just show up, but a lot of our loyal celebrity customers phone ahead. They know it makes it easier on us to have our security in place well in advance.'

How do you make sure celebrities don't get mobbed?

Lyra: 'It's LA so celebrities won't generally be mobbed by other customers - and if they are the type to be - they'll bring their own body guard and let us know they're coming in advance. They all will be mobbed by the photographers if unprotected, so that's why we have the paparazzi pen, and have security guards and a paparazzi wrangler.

Do you get many tourists now?

'We do get a lot of tourists. For one, tour buses stop outside the patch once a day. For many years we've seen a lot of Japanese tourists then, after Heidi Klum became a regular customer, we noticed a lot more Germans coming by, now it seems that we are a stop for most European tourists visiting during the Halloween season.'

Lastly - top tip for carving a pumpkin?!

Take a look through the gallery below to see stars at the pumpkin patch...