making a play wigwam for growing up peas beans etc

[time4tea]

Hello

we have a small north london garden (east facing) with a slightly rubbish lawn. I was thinking of digging up some of it and making a large wigwam of willow poles and growing peas, beans, etc up it - to make at the same time a play hut and a way of growing veg.

is this ambitious/deranged? anyone done something like this?

thanks T4T

It's a nice idea but were you going to have only soil on the ground in place of grass?
WOuld cats be a problem?

Could you not create such a structure but on top of grass and surround it with narrow planting beds for veg/flowers?

If you got a pallet or those nice premade deck tiles you could put them underneath

I made a wigwam out of (natural sticks) clothing props use a tarpaulin as a base & cover (no plants currently) but I'd like to plant willow round it to make a natural den (not advisable in a small garden tho')

Last year I made a very basic cane wigwam and grew sweet-peas up it, my DD (5) loved it.

It wasn't very big, about 3 ft diameter, I used about 6 canes and remembered to leave a gap for the door. Once the sweet-peas were about 6 inches tall I planted 1 at the base of each cane, and then just interwove them as they grew.

Once they got near the top I pinched out the main shoots and they spread all over. It did look quite nice, and she did like sitting in it.

The main downside was cutting the grass inside it.

this is great. Isn't MN wonderful, my random thought now has the confidence to become real.

I'll keep the lawn underneath - just do narrow beds, as Pannacotta suggests.

Fantastic.

Thank you.

We are hoping to make one using willow over a failed sandpit- they take really easily and you can weave bits through to make it sturdier. I wanted to plant peas through it but they would probably be eaten/ demolished before they grew properly.

Im doing this too - but using the oblong pots - that are 3 ft long, on 3 sides and growing peas in them doing this on my lawn -

Did you see Gardeners World on Friday? Toby made a wigwam and said that the key to it staying up was to twist the willow strips that you use to link the uprights. I guess it's all on iPlayer.

There are some willow structures at the wetlands centre at Barnes which you could use as inspiration!