Fall is around the corner. Garden flowers are gasping their last breath of showiness. As leaves begin to present touches of red and orange, my thoughts turn to Indian corn, corn stalks and pumpkins to add color to my doorstep. As I approach the Landrum Farmers Market, a big red truck catches my eye. Amid some glossy green watermelons in the truck bed, I notice some unusual colors and shapes of gourds scattered around. “Are these things gourds?” I inquire as I study these strange creatures. Ronnie and Keith Rollins both smile at my apparent ignorance and kindly begin to educate me on their many unusual shaped gourds.

“Look here,” Keith exclaims as holds one up for me. “This is a swan gourd. See how its head is tucked down in its ‘feathers,’ looking like a sleeping swan.” Then Ronnie holds up an apple shaped gourd. It’s a beautiful mottled green and looks just like a big apple. “Several are called handle gourds,” Keith says as he demonstrates how it can hang. “In the old days, people would hollow out the bottom and then use the handle shape to hang it by the pump. It made a perfect dipper for a drink of cool water from the bucket.” I notice a large, round gourd and inquire about the size. “Some people carve these out and they can be a place for a chicken to nest,” he chuckles. I conjure up an image of a big, fat chicken peering out from the center of the gourd.

Ronnie and Keith continue to instruct me. They grow about seven varieties of gourds. Each shape is a specific type, different seeds for each variety. “Gourds can be dried and they last forever. But keep them in the shade or they will dry too fast. They turn a nice tan color when dry. There’s even a gourd festival down in Columbia. Participants come from seven or eight states to show their gourds,” they continue. “And some people paint beautiful scenes on the gourds. These can be very expensive as they are works of art.”

These friendly brothers grew up here and their farm is down near Gowensville. They’ll be bringing corn stalks and pumpkins to market along with the gourds so customers can purchase fall décor. I select a nicely shaped swan gourd. “Some people paint them white when they dry, then put little black dots for eyes and a yellow beak,” Keith suggests. And I’ll follow his directions to create a charming little swan for my front porch.

– Linda List