Ornamental gourds (Cucurbita pepo) are distinguished from their close relatives like pumpkins and squash by their hard, durable shells. Because of gourds' warty, striped and colorful armor, people have put them to use for centuries in a wide variety of useful and decorative ways.

I got started on gourd growing when I saw a photo of a pergola in a British garden laced with floating white ghost gourds. Hundreds of them dripped down through the top of the pergola, and I could just picture how it would feel to walk through that shady tunnel, looking up at a ceiling of fat little white gourds dangling overhead. For someone whose favorite festivity is Halloween, it was a magical thought.

In my own garden, this was interpreted as an arbor planted with a couple of vines, which didn't produce gourds at all the first cold, rainy summer I tried them. The next warmer, drier summer the vines did deliver a couple of gourds that grew obligingly down through the arbor to dangle overhead just as I'd hoped. But it occurred to me that all summer you get the plain and floppy vine leaves, and only a couple of weeks of gourds. Now the arbor holds clematis and climbing roses.
 

Now In Bloom Oriental persimmons (Diospyros kaki) hang off the bare, spreading branches of the trees like little round scarlet lanterns to brighten the late-autumn garden. A handsome tree, persimmons grow to 30 feet, have small yellow flowers in summer, and glossy, dark-green, oval leaves that turn vivid shades from yellow to purple as the weather cools. The fruit persists until winter unless harvested.

But my fascination with gourds remains, because once I started reading about them I was hooked. Who could resist plants with names such as 'Penguin,' 'Wartie Hardshell' and 'Hedgehog'? Clearly, I'm not the only gourd fancier around. The American Gourd Society (317 Maple Court, Kokomo, IN 46902-3633; www.americangourdsociety.org) publishes a quarterly gourd newsletter. Alas, the closest state chapter for gourders appears to be in California.

What exactly are gourds? That's not particularly easy to answer. They're part of the huge Cucurbitaceae family, in which all the plants are tendrily vines that produce fruit. What distinguishes gourds from pumpkins and other squash is their extremely hard and durable shells, some of which are known to have lasted more than a thousand years. Gourds have been used as baskets, bottles, musical instruments, penis sheaths (in New Guinea), ceremonial and religious objects, fertility symbols and, in Japan, as sake containers. In many cultures, gourds were long thought to be an intermediary between the visible world of humans and the invisible spirit world. One of my favorite gourd stories (and there are a great many strange ones) is that in Hawaii, only pot-bellied men were allowed to plant and tend gourds.

It is the warty, grooved, smooth, bell-shaped, hooked, flared, mottled or striped Cucurbita pepo that we grow in our gardens or see piled up at farmer's markets in autumn. To cultivate them yourself, choose a spot in full sun. Gourds need nearly four months to mature, so plant them as soon as the ground warms up and don't expect a harvest until autumn. Like pumpkins, they need space for vines and roots to spread (at least 4 feet between plants). They'll get more sun, and you'll be able to see the fruit best, if you grow the vines up a trellis or fence. Gourds need rich, loose soil, plenty of manure or other fertilizer, and regular watering throughout the season.

For more information, take a look at "Gourds In Your Garden" by Ginger Summit (Hillway Press, 1998, $19.95). Seeds are available from the American Gourd Society as well as large seed companies like Burpee, Thompson and Morgan, and Shepherd's Garden Seeds.

Valerie Easton is manager at the Miller Horticultural Library. Her book, "Plant Life: Growing a Garden in the Pacific Northwest" (Sasquatch Books, 2002) is an updated selection of her magazine columns. Her e-mail address is vjeaston@aol.com.