Fiction, Flowers, Stone Bunny

Gourdtopia

Gnome, what are you doing in there?     ???????????????????????????????

Me? Oh, I’m enjoying myself. Enjoying myself immensely! I have the pleasure to be in Gourdtopia.  Gourdtopia01

GOURDTOPIA? Whaddya talk? Gourdtopia?

Yes. Gourdtopia.  It is a magical land behind Mary’s Garden, growing up against the playhouse.  ???????????????????????????????

Wow! That’s Cool! Has it always been there?

Oh no. It has never been here. It is not an ancient place. It is new. New, fresh and different. That might be why you don’t know about Gourdtopia. Let’s start at the very beginning, as it is the very best place to start…….  Gourdtopia02

Yes, you see. Merely one-half of a year ago, as the winter solstice broke and the light began to renew, Gourdtopia was yet occupied by snow and bushes…  Gourdtopia03

But the bushes were ragged and had become ugly. When spring came, the land was transformed. The bushes were removed, the fence was constructed, the seeds were planted and the strings were strung…  ???????????????????????????????

Gourdtopia was allowed to grow….  ???????????????????????????????

Indeed it was allowed to blossom.   ???????????????????????????????

Whoa! That’s awesome! So, you like it there?

Like it? Oh dear! Yes, I like it. I LOVE IT!  ???????????????????????????????

I love it here so much that I have become a Gourdtopian.

Whoa! No Way. That’s kinda freaky!

Oh, no. It’s not freaky. That’s not it. It just means that I am pulled to, indeed I can’t resist gazing up through the gourds….  ???????????????????????????????

I am entranced the by luminescent qualities of the of the gourds…  Gourdtopia09

I am enticed by the beautiful blossoms….???????????????????????????????

???????????????????????????????

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I am energized by the vital pursuit as the gourds strive upward, always reaching their tentacles towards the sky….Gourdtopia13

Ever striving….Gourdtopia14

I find the gourds to be endlessly fascinating. But it is not just me, you see. The other plants can feel the magic of the gourds as well. Why look at these sunflowers…???????????????????????????????

They face the gourds throughout the day. Entranced no doubt, as am I. Why, they wear a windswept expression of awe. Have you ever seen such a thing????????????????????????????????

Whoa! Wow! This is powerful.

Oh yes! Powerful! And beautiful. Why look at the flowers who join the gourds…Gourdtopia17a

Such delicate combinations of color???????????????????????????????

Such elegant shapes and textures.???????????????????????????????

Very nice.  Very nice, indeed.   And I see your little friends are checking it out too.

Oh yes. Stone Bunny, Stone Puppy and Stone Turtle were much intrigued by my tales of the magical energy of Gourdtopia, they wanted to join the fun as well…???????????????????????????????

That’s great!

Yes, Gourdtopia is a wonderful place.???????????????????????????????

Now, you must excuse me.???????????????????????????????

Please do return again. The blossoms will yield many gourds.  I’m sure you will want to witness that. But now, I feel the gourds growing and I must focus on thier vital energy.  Goodbye…???????????????????????????????

OH, Okay. Well, thanks Gnome. Thank you very much. I’ll let you get back to your trance. See you later.

41 thoughts on “Gourdtopia”

  1. Cool! I love the white blossom. Would have thought they’d all be yellow like the rest of the family. I can’t wait to see this later when it’s hanging with dozens of gourds. Gourdtopia is pretty awesome.

    1. Thanks Grower. I think the white blossom yields a ‘swan neck’ gourd. I bought every variety of seeds at the local supply store and planted them willy-nilly. My only concern on the white blossom is that I’ve seen dozens of male blossoms of that variety but haven’t seen many gourds yet. We’ll see. They’ll come through. Meanwhile, they are darn handsome. They tend to bloom in the evening, along with the primrose. 🙂

  2. Wonderful idea, and beautiful! Last year our birdhouse gourd escaped from her bed and clambered up the 7-foot-tall forsythia bush. Soon the bush was festooned with hanging gourds. I loved the effect!

    1. Thanks. That sounds wonderful. The gourds do look for something to hang on. We’ll check back in on the gourds in a couple weeks and see how they are doing. So far, so fun. 🙂

    1. Hi Julie. Yet again, you bring up a point I hadn’t thought of. Windy. Yes, I can see how that would have a negative effect on this approach to growing. We’re quite well protected here with trees all around and a bit of a rise to the west, blocking the predominant winds. Meanwhile, one of the challenges with the gourds is that I have pumpkins of the big-huge variety growing in the same bed, but I train the pumpkins to grow out along the ground in front of the gourds and train the gourds to grow up the strings. So far, they are all going where they are supposed to go. So far… 🙂

    1. I am blest. Blest in many ways. Thank you. That said, the space came with the property but the sunlight came compliments of years – I mean years! – of sturdy work with a chainsaw. When we first looked at this property, I thought “Wow, open this place up and it could be special.” Now that we have some sunlight, it is fun to grow and fun to share. Thanks for letting me share. 🙂

  7. When I was a child there was a man growing gourds along his fence on my way home from school. I remember him telling me I could take one home. I think it took me at least 30 minutes to pick the best one.

    1. What a nice memory. Thank you for sharing. There is something quite compelling about gourds. Quite compelling. I bet you picked the perfect one! 🙂

    1. They do seem to love it here. As I noted to Grower above, I believe the white flower is supposed to yield a ‘swan neck’ gourd. We’ll see. So far we have a bunch of white male blossoms. The yellow blossoms seem more interested in turning into gourds. But those white blossoms sure are pretty, blooming of an evening. 🙂

  9. I loved this little story, as I do all the stories you share! When I lived in Albuquerque, people would string up dried gourds with holes of various sizes bored in them so different birds could safely build their nests. Late spring and summer were always magical with the sounds of so many growing families. Thanks for sharing Gnome’s thoughts!

    1. Thank you. I thank you and Gnome thanks you. I really appreciate your letting me know that you like the story. That is very encouraging, particularly coming from such an excellent writer as yourself. We’ll see how many gourds we produce. Then we’ll figure out what to do with them. Surely there are birds out there just looking for a good home. 🙂

  10. Your gourd vines are all so healthy.
    Mind you, everything in your garden looks healthy. I think you’re feeding them steroids, or something very illegal.

    1. Whaddya think, Cynthia? I’m not growing these things in Colorado. Oh no, they are safe, legal and Hoosier all the way through. 🙂 Actually, there is a trick. About 12 years ago we cut down a huge maple tree and I left the stump to rot down amidst the bushes. This spring, when I removed the bushes, I first hacked off the outer, rotten part of the stump with an axe. Then I cut the stump off at ground level and hacked and chopped the base. Then I planted the gourd seeds around it. I recall noting to myself at the time that I wasn’t really planting these seeds in soil so much as a bed of rotten maple stump hunks blended with soil. Worms and microbes a-plenty. Anyway, the gourds germinated quickly, took off growing and just look at them now. The strings along the fence were a rather inspired idea, don’t you think? 🙂

  11. You have such an imagination! I really like your gourd setup. I am thinking of a spot where I could use that idea.

    1. Thanks Sarah. If I recall correctly, you did a pretty cool cucumber fence of the same general idea. I hope that worked out. I also hope the strings holding up my gourds hold, as some of them are quite weighted down about now. Cheers. Have a great day. 🙂

    1. Thanks. A lovely garden of the wild variety. The only kind I seem to be able to grow. But as I say, my favorite. 🙂

    1. Big orange zucchini blossoms, I assume. Tis the season. We have some of them and some handsomely blooming pumpkins as well. 🙂

    1. Will do. It’s a very pretty flower and finally I see some signs of blossoms bearing fruit. I’ll keep you posted – literally. 🙂

    1. Thanks. It’s a fun jungle to watch grow. And yes, I’m going to have to figure out what to do with all those gourds. I’ll look up Indian recipes. 🙂

  16. Hi Jim, I know this post features the gourds growing in your garden but are they bella donna lilies also known as ‘naked ladies’ lurking in the foreground? I see you have also included a photograph of them.

    1. Yes, they are the ‘naked lady’ lillies. I call them surprise lillies. I plan to publish a post about them tomorrow. Well, really I was going to do it today, but Hey! All things in good time. So please check back in at your convenience. Meanwhile, I hope you have a fine winter day down there. 🙂

  19. Oh Jim, I love this post! I love the way that the story unfolded, beginning with the winter wonderland photo and ending with a profusion of growth and fabulous flowers too ( I Love Zinnias). You have a great, upbeat style …….and a lovely selection of stone gnomes and animals in your garden.
    Thank you for visiting my blog too. You have many followers so thanks for finding the time, I really appreciate it.
    Karen.

    1. Thanks for the lovely compliment. I particularly enjoyed writing this post – it was fun to give Gnome a voice. The gourds are amazing. I too am a big fan of zinnias. So pretty and dependable and so very willing to germinate, grow and bloom. We have several large beds of them this year and they are blooming beautifully. 🙂

    1. Thanks a lot. I love it too – that’s why I like to share on the blog. Congratulations on your first vegetable garden. There is a lot to learn, but you will figure it out and be glad of the results. Good entertainment and good produce. 🙂

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