String Bean Teepee

Sheila Ellison explains how to create a teepee in your garden using string beans. What better place to hide from the summer sun and imagine lands unknown than inside a teepee covered with green vines?

1. Buy six to eight pieces of bamboo that are each 10 - 12 feet in length.

2. Arrange them around a 6-foot circle, leaving room for a small entrance, and push the ends about 3-inches into the ground.

3. Take some twine, and tie the upper ends of the bamboo together about one foot down from the top. An older child or adult can hold the bamboo in place while the twine is being wrapped.

4. Plant a variety of string bean seeds that grow well in your region at the base of the teepee. In a few short months, the teepee will be covered with fast-growing vines, leaves, and beans.

This is a fun garden project for kids to play in, but you can also modify it to suit your needs, such as making a garden full of miniature teepees.