Product Review

GOURD: Plant gourds if for no other reason than because they're fun! They come in a delightful, wacky array of shapes, colors, and sizes and are sure to bring a smile when you harvest them. Many will grow up fences and trellises, which makes them even more interesting and dramatic.

Crown of Thorns gourds exhibit a range of pleasantly bizarre, crown-shaped fruits in colors from creamy white to green- and yellow-striped. Not usually edible due to their hard shell, gourds are clearly related to cucumbers and courgettes. Originating from the tropical regions of the Americas, they have been employed as bowls and other such containers for centuries. In fact, in Haiti they were once used as currency!

Gourds are attractive vines suitable for trellises, fences, and walls, and also for trailing along the ground. However, the most exciting way of growing gourds is over archways, letting the fruits hang down to create a tunnel littered with extraordinary, pendulous gourd 'lanterns.'