Are You Out of Your Gourd?

If you love to grow vegetables, but find you can never eat all your garden yields, here’s an alternative to researching new recipes in anticipation of your millionth tomato. Grow some decorative gourds in place of a portion of your usual edible veggies. Decorative gourds have potential as centerpieces, serving bowls, storage containers, birdhouses, and a wide range of children's craft projects. You might be surprised that professional gourd artists can sell their art for as much as $20,000 and their artwork is displayed in galleries across the nation. If mastering the skills required for fine art gourds is not in your future, then consider the novelty of drying gourds for maracas and giving them to the youngsters in your family.

Once you decide how much time you are willing to devote to a project and your tolerance for crafting, choose the right gourd seeds for your family. Remember that a minimal amount of effort is required to grow small gourds for display in a basket. If you are not interested in growing gourds, but are intrigued by their potential uses, dried gourds can be purchased online anytime. Small decorative gourds are also available at the garden center.