Forts are my favorite.
I loved building elaborate blanket forts as a kid, and I still like hiding away in nooks to read a book–when my kids let me.
This year we’ve been visiting historic forts in the Pacific NW, like Fort Stevens
and Fort Vancouver.
While we were at Fort Vancouver this weekend, I noticed something cool in their vegetable garden. They grow their beans on birch tepees.
Wouldn’t that make the perfect summer fort for a four-year-old?
In May, I started a corn fort:
It’s basically the world’s easiest corn maze: the corn is laid out in a rectangle with one end open for a door. By August, the plants should be high enough to create a nice little hiding place. I’m thinking about putting a chair in the closed off end.
I also tied together some sticks and made a mini-cucumber fort in my garden boxes. But this one is more of a fort for lettuce than children. I’m hoping when the summer gets nice and hot for cucumbers, it doesn’t scorch my lettuce.
Forts could also be made by planting tall flowers like sunflowers or hollyhocks in a circle. Just make sure you leave room for a door.
Plant forts are the perfect summer escape–right in your backyard!