In most gardens green is good. Brown, not so much. That old saw gets turned on its ear, however when you’re drying birdhouse gourds.
I planted these gourds from seed for the first time last summer. Adorable green mini-gourds came and went, but in the end only two grew to full size. Then the cold weather set in and that was that.
The Birdhouse Gourds Twins
I brought ‘the gourd twins’ inside thinking the forced-air heating would speed up the drying process. You can’t rush nature so I did the next best thing: I dressed them up in scarves, moved them around as household decor, and eventually set them on top of a cabinet to dry undisturbed.
Cozy gourds settling in for the winter
A few weeks ago, my son came to me and said “Mom, I don’t think you’re going to like this.” He assumed they had gone bad. In this case, brown is good. It means the gourds are finally dry and ready for crafting.
Of course, now I’m afraid to make my move. I want to use one of the twins for its intended purpose: a birdhouse. To do that, I need to drill a hole.
What if it cracks?
What if it snaps?
What if “I” make the hole too big?
Truth be told, my husband is the power tool guy around here, so he’ll be doing the drilling with me hovering nearby like the nervous new mom that I am. Let’s face it: I’ve waited nine months for these twins. I don’t want to mess this up.
The second gourd, if all goes well, will be welcoming garden fairies. I don’t really have an heir and a spare. I’ll be pressing both gourds into service. That’s a lot of pressure resting on their sloping shoulders. Let’s hope we are all up to the task.
Gardening Nirvana 
Oh, the pressure! We would most solemnly and sincerely like to wish you ‘God Speed’ and ‘Good Luck’ with this project. Birds must be fed and will be watching ……. 🙂
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Thank you, thank you! Stay tuned. We hope to tackle this project over the weekend. [biting nails nervously] 🙂
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You going to name one of them George? 🙂
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I hadn’t thought of that! Good call, Mary.
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These gourds look good!
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Thank you, Silverbells. Nice to see you here.
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🙂
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Now, that’s a new one. Putting scarves on them and using them for decor. 😀 They will turn out beautiful, I’m sure. Sounds like your boys care about your success too.
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I figured that if they were going to hang out in the house for awhile, they may as well put on a few layers and make themselves at home.
My youngest son also loves the garden and observes many things with a keen eye. I’m luck to have both of them.
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Look at who’s photo-bombing your gourds ! Hi Lindy ! HAha! She’s thinking, “good grief, what is she up to now?”
Man o’ man, you have to have some patience for this project. It seems like forever since you had those in the garden. I’ll have my fingers crossed….steady as she goes. Can’t wait to see what you do in the fairy garden. I’ve seen some cute things in Pinterest.
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Lindy photo-bombing! I laughed out loud ;0)
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😀 Ha, I know right? Plus, I always wonder what they’re thinking. (good morning my dear!)
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Pinterest can really intimidate a gal if you aren’t careful. Some of the fairy gardens I’ve seen (multi-story, up the sides of trees, etc.) are breathtaking. I keep reminding myself that I’m having fun but wow, what fun it would be to have the skills to carve and sculpt and design a fairy garden masterpiece.
I wish our cats could talk. I’m sure you’ve got Lindy pegged: *What* is she doing?
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Haha, love the scarves 😉 Good luck with the crafting!
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Thank you!
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