Farm recreates David Attenborough and a froggy friend out of 11,000 squashes
Sunnyfields Farm in Hampshire, UK, has just claimed the record for the largest squash mosaic (image) for the third time in four years.
Their latest mega masterpiece saw them embrace their wild side, paying homage to broadcasting legend and conservationist David Attenborough, who turned 100 in May, accompanied by a cheeky frog.
Once again overseen by the Nelson family (UK), the owners of Sunnyfields, the organic work of art spanned an area of 218.2 m² (2,349 sq ft) and was made up of around 11,000 squashes and pumpkins, all of which are naturally coloured.
According to Sunnyfields’ Ian Nelson, the most tricky part was recreating Attenborough’s facial features. “The face elements in particular are always the hard bits – the mouth and the eyes especially,” he told GWR.
This surpasses their previous record from 2025 which spanned 212 m² (2,281 sq ft), for a tribute to the late rockstar Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away that year. It was even visited by Ozzy’s family who gave it their official seal of approval.
That in turn beat their 2023 effort and first official world record for a 193.35-m² (2,081-sq-ft) display that recreated an iconic scene featuring Jack Skellington from the 1993 Tim Burton movie The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The themes of all three of their record-breaking works of art, created out of thousands of variously shaped and coloured gourds belonging to the Cucurbita family, have been led by public suggestions. For the farm, that first-hand feedback is super important as Ian’s son, Tom, explained: “The public are a great barometer of what is resonating with them each year. After all, it is them who are going to either see the image online or come down and see it in person.
“We always ask people on Facebook and Instagram, and it normally gets a great amount of engagement. We enjoy reading all of the suggestions. There are definitely some funny ones in there as well…!”
The reason why the public was so overwhelmingly asking for Sir David is because of how much he means to so many families across the UK and the world, how much he has been part of being in our living rooms, and the causes he has championed for his entire life. 100 years of being part of all of our lives is something that needs to be celebrated, and we're very pleased and proud to be a part of it – Tom Nelson, Sunnyfields Farm
Once the most popular subject matter has been identified, the next stage is to work up a design that is suited to a mural made out of fruit. Tom elaborated on the evolution of the concept: “A few of us discuss the general vision that we have and we pass it off to our fantastic in-house artist, Andrew Bega, who works with us for about four months of the season and does all of the artistry around the event.
"Andrew did the 2025 Ozzy Osbourne mural, and he also has done the final design version of David Attenborough for 2026.”
Of course, there comes a point when all the planning and conceptualizing have to transition from a 2D drawing to a 3D reality, which is always the moment of truth.
Tom told us how it went this time: “It took a team of 18 and three JCB telehandlers to create the pumpkin portrait over the course of five hours.
While you might think setting a record for the third time would be easier based on previous experience, Tom revealed that it had been anything but this year for a number of reasons.
For starters, the extreme weather that the UK has experienced in 2026 meant it had been challenging just to grow the quantity of squashes required to create an artwork on this scale.
“It has been very tough,” Tom said. “The heat and lack of rain have been unprecedented. The best conditions for pumpkins are lots of sun and lots of water. There are a few opportunities in early summer to get some water on the crop, but as pumpkins and squashes have many vines that come out, it soon becomes difficult to get access to the field without driving over the plants."
Their previous success has also created extra work for them: before they could even begin, they had to relandscape the manmade mound (the “pyramid”) that sits at the centre of the farm’s pumpkin-display field in order to create extra surface area to accommodate more squashes than ever.
“The original pyramid that we built wasn’t symmetrical,” Tom said. “If you look at all the previous years, the right-hand side is at a steeper gradient. What we have done is increase the right-hand side base by about 1.5 m [4 ft 11 in]. It took about 20 tonnes [22 tons] of extra soil to [achieve] this!”
However all the hard work has been worth it as the Nelsons have now secured their third GWR certificate.
Official GWR Adjudicator Pravin Patel, who went to inspect the squash showstopper and present them with their certificate both this year and last year said: “Sunnyfields are already featured in Guinness World Records 2027 for their incredible Ozzy Osbourne mosaic, so it’s fantastic to be part of another huge moment with the team this year.
“Creating a portrait of Sir David Attenborough on this scale from thousands of pumpkins and squashes is an extraordinary undertaking, and a brilliant way to celebrate such an iconic figure in his 100th year. It is a real pleasure to officially recognize Sunnyfields as Guinness World Records title holders once again.”
It feels absolutely fantastic to achieve the world record for the third time, and even more special with it being Sir David Attenborough. It's not only a really special moment for our family, but for the whole wider team, who puts so much effort behind the scenes: growing the pumpkins, designing the mural and all the hard work it takes assembling them into the finished art – Tom Nelson, Sunnyfields Farm
With three records now under their belt, the only remaining question is do the Nelson family think they can outdo themselves in the future? “There is always scope to go bigger and better,” Tom said. “We can’t say we have given too much thought to it, though it’s best not to put limits on what you can achieve.”