Fill Your Home With Decorative Gourds
Consider the gourd, in all its whimsical glory. This autumn herald offers endless options for festooning your home inside and out with a touch of cold-weather spirit.
All summer long, gourds flowered and fattened under leaves and vines, and now they are arising as vegetable (or fruit) jewels seemingly from the fantastic imagination of Mother Nature herself. No need to stop at the simple pumpkin! Fall is the perfect time to pluck all kinds of gourds from their patches. And in farmer’s markets and nurseries all over Texas, crates and stalls are full to bursting with our favorite inedible crop.
Sweet, diminutive fairytale pumpkins and coachlike Cinderella pumpkins. Pretty daisy gourds and unpredictable gremlin gourds. Vibrant turk’s turbans, speckled swans, and goblin eggs. Decorate your home with a magical array of stout, mini, sloop-necked, and multicolored decorative gourds to get in a truly festive fall spirit. Here’s how.
On Your Mantel
Scatter decorative gourds across the mantel (or window sill) in a wabi-sabi way. Include foliage and green vines. Thread a string of white lights among and between the gourds to make a dreamy evening display.
In a Bowl
Place a selection of gourds in your largest, most decorative bowl. Toss in a few acorns, nuts, brightly colored apples, and pinecones. Nestle a pillar candle (safely) in the middle to make your centerpiece glow with warmth.
Porch Accents
Build a gourd cairn. Stack gourds, one on top of the other. Stabilize by creating a wider base, starting with the largest gourd on the bottom. Since this is outside, you could drape hay or tall shafts of wheat to really bring home that harvest feeling.
Still Life
If you have a handful of mini gourds with a high wow factor, place them on a base with florist moss, a handful of pretty pebbles, and a few of your prettiest autumn leaves. Top with a bell jar. If you have a cake dome or cheese dome, you can easily use it for this beautiful arrangement.
As a Flower Pot
Take one gorgeous, extra-large gourd, slice off the top, hollow it out, and clean as though for a jack-o’-lantern. Place a modest pot of flowers (such as mums or marigolds), a cactus, or mixed succulents in the empty gourd for maximum contrast. Striking!
Packed in Crates
Obtain some miniature crates and spray-paint white. Tumble in a collection of modestly proportioned gourds and you’re ready for a faux farmer’s market! A fun variation: Place decorative gourds in a divided crate.
Find more fun fall festivities here.
© 2019 Texas Farm Bureau Insurance
