During this “down” time at Perry Wellness Center, employee and artist Jeff Williams is keeping busy with many creative projects around the grounds of the center. Last week we told our readers about his creation of unique plant identification signs. We have learned that he has also been at work on gourd birdhouses.

The gourd or Cucurbitaceae family is a large one that includes squash and pumpkins. The two varieties used most for decorative purposes are Legenaria and Cucurbita plants.  The former is a hard-shell variety, which is a shade of green until it is dried or cured, at which point it ages to a tan or brown color. The latter is soft-skinned and grows in a variety of colors, including orange, yellow, green, white, and blue. Their shapes are unpredictable and bumpy.

These unusual plants can easily be turned into everything from storage containers to the popular birdhouses that are a fixture of rural Southern yards. We found an excellent link on how to dry a gourd that is going to be used for home or garden décor.  Once Jeff selects a dried gourd, he creates an opening for birds and sprays the gourd with a protective lacquer, before displaying it on a plant hanger.

“Gourd birdhouses are really a local, rural product,” Jeff notes. “People grow them for many uses. I have painted the gourds for storage use, and I have used larger gourds for birdhouses. Some early birds, like the marlins, fill these shapes for houses.”

Jeff’s current “crop” of birdhouses is displayed on hangers off the south parking lot ramp at Perry Wellness Center. Upon re-opening of Rudy’s Happy Patch Market, the gourds will be available for sale.