Create a Living Friendship Fort

Looking for a fun and educational project that adds a special touch to your garden? Here’s how you can combine gardening with imaginative fun!

What is a Living Friendship Fort?

By creating supports for climbing plants, you can design enchanting, leafy enclosures perfect for children’s activities, from reading and games to simply enjoying time together. Choosing quick-growing vine varieties like pole beans means a faster transformation into a green hideout. However, the real magic lies in the hands-on learning as young gardeners tend to the plants and watch their fort flourish.

Ready to Start Your Growing Adventure?

What You’ll Need:

• Pole bean seeds
• Six to eight 8′ bamboo stakes (or similar long supports)

Let’s Build and Grow:

1). Find a sunny location with soil that retains moisture but also drains well.

2). Select a “pole bean” variety – these are natural climbers. Avoid “bush bean” varieties, which grow into short, bushy plants.

3). Gather six to eight 8-foot bamboo stakes and tie their tops together securely. If bamboo isn’t available, you can use sturdy branches or other long stakes. Stand them upright, spreading the base to create a cone-shaped structure approximately 5 feet in diameter. Push the stakes firmly into the ground for stability.

4). Clear a 12-inch wide path around the base of the stakes, removing any weeds, grass, and rocks. Improve the soil by loosening it to a depth of at least 8 inches and mixing in some compost or a slow-release fertilizer.

5). Plant 2–3 pole bean seeds at the base of each stake, leaving one section unplanted to serve as an entrance.

6). Water the seeds gently after planting. Encourage children to monitor the soil moisture daily and water as needed, especially during the initial growth stages. Once the plants mature, they will develop deeper roots and become more drought-tolerant.

Kids can enjoy the structure of their fort immediately after building it, just remind them to be careful around the young seedlings as they emerge.

7). Once the bean plants have developed a few sets of leaves, carefully apply mulch around them to help prevent weed and grass growth. You may also need to manually remove any weeds that appear inside the fort until the bean plants grow tall enough to create shade.

This guide is inspired by the resources and educational materials provided by KidsGardening.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting garden-based learning.