Gourds are a bountiful way to fill your garden.

Check out this vine. Oh wait, it’s not just any vine, fellow gardeners, it’s a gourd! And it will help fill your garden and home with lots of color this first day of Fall.

Yes, those decorative vegetables can hide secret messages too. Read on to learn how to create some unique gourd-geous decorations.

Halloween can be scary but not with these gourds

You can be scary or friendly with these tips using carving tools. Carve names or messages on the outside of these gourds with any sharp instrument.

Please remember to supervise the little ones for safety when using sharp instruments.

What a great idea, my sister shared with me. Not only are the gourds plentiful with their greenery, you can personalize them too.

Name your gourd.

Greet visitors or scare off any random unwelcome guests.

Check out the pictures below. To add your personal touch on the gourd, you can use a sharp instrument on the outside surface as the gourd is starting to grow, Take care to slowly carve out the letters not going too deep into the inside of the gourd. In a few weeks, it will eventually dry up on the exposed areas. Ta-da you’ll have a great home-made decoration.

Just imagine the ghosts and goblins, and maybe even small gardeners poking around your yard. It might be a sunny day or a spooky evening stroll by flashlight. They are looking to see where this mysterious green tangle of leaves is going to take them. A hand pushes aside some leaves, and wow-a greeting welcomes them.

What kind of reaction do you think you’ll see? What kind of message?

Not just any greeting, maybe their name? Maybe the names of family members?

I think the named gourds would make excellent place holders for your holiday table at Thanksgiving later in the Fall. Although you might want to start early so you can harvest them when they are small. Unless you have a giant table to fit the family and their gourds.

For now, if you haven’t harvested the gourds from this year’s crop, start your scarring. Be creative, go beyond names with thoughts and quotes to share good will around the garden and beyond.

Let’s see some pictures of your gourd creations!