My Garden Book

of Gourds

Coloring & Activity

Book

My Garden Book of Gourds

Coloring & Activity

Book

This book belongs to

_________

Did you know?

Most gourds grow on vines. The vine has tendrils

and leaves that usually have five lobes and grow

alternately. The male and female flower bloom on

the same vine.

There are hard-shelled, ornamental, and loofah

gourds. Gourds can be green, white, yellow or

even striped.

Gourds are used for many purposes. Gourds can

be used for spoons, bowls, bottles, jars, and

baskets. Some gourds are used as food and

medicines. Gourds can be made into birdhouses

and birdfeeders.

Gourds can be used to creat art and musical

instruments. Some gourds are used as sponges,

soap and even purses and shoes.

The Drinkin’ Gourd is another name for the Big

Dipper constellation. Did you know there is even

a song called Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd.?

Hard-shelled gourds

Basket Type

The Basket gourd. There are Cannon Ball,

Bushel Basket, and Basket Ball gourds.

This gourd is used to make bowls and

baskets.

The Canteen gourd. It is also called the

sugar bowl gourd. This gourd has been

made into canteens and used to carry

water.

The Kettle gourd. This gourd has a very

thick shell and can grow very large.

The Sugar bowl or Tobacco box gourd.

Hard-shelled gourds

BottleType

The Sennari and Mexican Bottle gourd.

This gourd has a smaler bulb at the top

and a larger bulb at the bottom. It is

used to make bottles.

The Chinese Bottle or Dumb-bell gourd.

It is sometimes called a dumb bell

because of its shape. It is used to make

bottles and birdhouses.

The Birdhouse or Purple Martin gourd.

This gourd is shaped like a pear. It is

one of the most common gourds.

The Penguin or powderhorn gourd. When

painted this gourd looks just like a

penguin.

The Indonesian bottle gourd. This gourd

has a small bulb on the top and a larger

bulb on the bottom, separated by a

long slender waist.

The Lump-in-neck gourd. This gourd

has a large bulb on the bottom with a

smaller bulb on the top. It has a narrow

neck with a lump in it. It can be used to

make Maracas.

The Hardshell Wartie gourd. This gourd

is pear-shaped and it is covered in sturdy

bumps or warts.

The Snake gourd. This gourd can grow

more than 36 inches long. Many people

use this gourd for food.

The Dipper gourd. This gourd has a long

neck. It is used to make a dipper, for

drinking and cooking.

Ornamental gourds

The Apple gourd. It is

white, round and the size

of an apple.

The Crown of Thorns gourd.

It is creamy or green striped,

oblong shape with a ring of

thorns or fingers around the

stem end.

The Egg or Nest egg gourd.

It is a shape, color and size

of a hen’s egg. It is sometimes

used to place in nests to trick hens.

The Orange gourd. It looks

like an orange in shape, color

and size.

The Pear gourd. It is shaped

like a pear, but is green-striped

or white in color.

The Warty gourd. It is

pear-shaped covered in warts.

It is most often orange in

color.

Loofah gourds

The Ridged loofa. This gourd

has ten ridges in its papery

outer shell. It is about 12 inches

long.

The Loofah or dish rag gourd

does not have ridges on it’s shell.

It can grow over 30 inches long.

The Mini loofah or Hedgehog gourd.

It is about the size of a golf ball

and it is covered in spikes.

Name three things a plant needs to

grow.

1. ________________

2. ________________

3. ________________

Can you find 7 gourds on this vine?

Name three hard-shelled gourds.

1. B a s _ _ t

2. K e _ _ l e

3. B o _ _ l e

Name three ornamental gourds.

1. A _ _ l e

2. P _ _ r

3. W a _ t _ e

Name two loofah gourds.

1. R i _ _ e d

2. D _ _ h r a g

Name three ways to use a gourd.

1. B a _ _ e t

2. B _ _ d h _ _ s e

3. S p _ _ g e

My Garden Book

of Gourds

Answer Page

Name three things a plant needs to grow.

1. Soil

2. Sun

3. Water

Name three hard-shelled gourds.

1. Basket

2. Kettle

3. Bottle

Name three ornamental gourds.

1. Apple

2. Pear

3. Wartie

Name two loofah gourds

1. Ridged

2. Dishrag

Name three ways to use gourds.

1. Basket

2. Birdhouse

3. Sponge

Copyright 2009, Tarrant County Master Gardener, All Rights Reserved

Additional Sources for Information

about Gardening with Gourds

Texas A & M – Aggie Horticulture

AgriLife Extension – Home Gardening-Vegetables,

Fruits, Nuts and Variety Selection

AgriLife Extension – Pest Management and Control

AgriLife Extension – Tarrant County Master Gardeners

AgriLife Extension – Steve Chaney, Tarrant County

Extension Agent

References

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu

The Gourd Book by Charles Bixler Heiser

Gourds in Your Garden: a Guidebook for the Home

Gardener by Ginger Summit

Garden of Gourds by L.H. Gailey

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://www.twincreek.com

Tarrant County

Master Gardeners of the

Union Gospel Mission

UGM Garden Coordinator, Gay Larson, TCMG

Written by Nancy Curl, TCMG, BS, MEd

Illustrated by Pat Higgins, TCMG

This publication is dedicated to Sue Short, TCMG

The My Garden Book coloring and activity series:

My Garden Book of Flowers My Garden Book of Vegetables

Tarrant County Master Gardeners

(817) 884-1944 http://www.tcmga.org/

AgriLIFE Extension, Tarrant County

(817) 884-1946 http://tarrant.tamu.edu

Steve A. Chaney, Tarrant County Extension Agent - Horticulture

(817) 884-1944 s-chaney@tamu.edu