Backyard Grass-Hut Retreat

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Any variety of dried limbs and saplings can be used for the structure of the grass hut.
Any variety of dried limbs and saplings can be used for the structure of the grass hut.
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A lazy-hazy-crazy-days-of-summer retreat. 
A lazy-hazy-crazy-days-of-summer retreat. 
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Enlist the help of friends and neighbors to turn the process of stuffing dried grass into the hut frame into a social gathering.
Enlist the help of friends and neighbors to turn the process of stuffing dried grass into the hut frame into a social gathering.

The first question almost everyone asks about our grass hut is, “What’s it for?”

Younger kids see it as a cottage, a jail or a castle. Young adults use it for a hangout spot. Families can camp out overnight, and people of any age can find refuge from the sun, the rain or the fast pace of life. We’ve used it for all these things and more.

All materials we used to build the hut (except door hardware) came from our city’s yard-waste drop-off site, where unwanted plant materials are collected to be ground into free mulch. People are allowed to drop off or pick up materials as needed. We collected sturdy branches, bamboo, grapevines and ornamental grasses, plus a few pieces of dimension lumber to build our hut.

Shelley Botts
Columbia, Missouri

  • Published on May 25, 2011
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