The leaves don't look like watermelon, but more like cantaloup. Has she ever planted any of the small exotic melons. I grew one from Baker's a couple years ago that looked like that in the green stage. It stayed small, turned yellow when ripe. I think it was Tigger or something like that.

I agree with Dorothy that the leaves in the photo look more like a melon type of leaf than a watermelon. Watermelon leaves are distinctly lobed. (see photo below for example of watermelon leaves).

I also think it might be one of the small, softer-shelled ornamental gourds because they do have yellow flowers, whereas most harder-shelled gourds have white flowers.

I last grew Tigger melon about 4 or 5 years ago, and my memory of it does not exactly match the melon in your photo, but it is close. Every Tigger melon differs in its pattern somewhat, and mine had much more jagged lines than the one in your photo.

I guess we'll all have to wait and see.

If I was looking only at the little fruit and flower, and not the leaves, though, I would have said watermelon.

Here is a link that might be useful: Example of Watermelon Leaf

I've been wracking my brain trying to think of a baby melon that stays small, has cantaloupe type leaves and has that distinctive striping, but which is not quite a jagged as the striping on 'Tiggger', and I think I have it....

In the late 1990s and early 2000s I grew Queen Anne's Pocket Melon as a novelty. It really isn't for eating, but it smells heavenly and is something to plant near a patio, sidewalk or entryway. Back in the olden days when people did not bathe as regularly as we do today, women carried these melons with them because of their lovely scent.

I've linked a photo of Queen Anne's Pocket Melon below. I'm not saying this is what she has, but it might be. It is sold under many names, including Dudaim and Plum Granny. My brother grew it from seeds sold to him as 'vine peach'. In all cases, it smells better than it tastes.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Queen Anne's Pocket Melon

The striping sort of look like a buffalo gourd which grows wild in New Mexico. That isn't how I remember the leaves.

adellabedella, I agree the fruit looks like a tiny buffalo gourd, but we have them here on our property some years, and the leaves are long and pointy and grayish-green, which may be how you remember them. That's why I thought it may be one of the ornamental gourds. I'm still not convinced the leaves look right for an orrnamental gourd either, though they might.

Dawn