Meredith Horn
“Where did this gourd art thing come from?” friends ask. To be honest, since I can’t draw, that’s what I think most days too. It all started when I moved to a small house on a big lot that had the potential for oodles of garden space…once that pesky lawn was removed. A dream comes true! Planting big, sprawling, viney things is what one does with that kind of growing space. “So now what” I wondered that fall, looking over the multitudes of gourds drying on the vines. “Some birds live in gourds” mentioned a friend, and so began the making of birdhouse gourds. The gourds are meant to be placed outdoors. The holes are drilled for smaller birds like wrens or the black-capped chickadee but can be enlarged for other species. They will age like anything made and used by Mother Nature.
