disguise your rainwater barrel

i had mentioned a little bit ago that my mom was taking a sustainable gardening class, and when i was visiting a few weeks ago we got to talking about rainwater conservation. she was mentioning the standard plastic barrel under the downspout technique and how she thought it was a great idea, but that the barrels were kind-of an eyesore. i agreed, despite my generally prevailing, treehugging disposition, i am also heavily oriented towards good aesthetics, and i like my garden to look pretty just as much as anyone else. so i was delighted this morning when i ran across this idea at re-nest this morning: to grow climbing plants over top of your barrel! what a great idea, so simple and easy to do. read the rest here...