Natural Tent

(Blogger decided that this picture needed to be sideways...I cannot figure out how to switch it back the right way)

A long time ago, I read about using climbing beans to make a natural tent. Basically, you create a structure in the shape of a tent for the beans to climb up. You run twine between the supports creating a ladder on which the plant will climb as it grows. You also leave an opening for the door and when the beans start climbing, they create the walls of the tent. It was one of those ideas that I always wanted to try and figured I would once I had kids. Then, I recently saw the idea pop up here. I love the way that one looks and decided to create one in our tire garden.

Ours isn't as pretty because we re-used some old PVC pipes that we already had. The wooden supports would look much better but I figure that if this works, the plants will cover it up anyways. Per the suggestion of the lady at the greenhouse, we used Pole Beans and Sweet Peas. I am excited that it will be edible and beautiful to smell as well. We'll have the beans to pick and eat and the Sweet Peas are supposed to be a very sweet smelling flower. I have high hopes for this project turning out well. C'mon, Mother Nature, help us out on this one, will ya?