Natural canopy table

Listen to this radio show (MP3 download) or read below.

Radio interview source: Dan Wood, director of international sales, Cool Heat, Inc

It gets pretty hot sitting outside on the patio in the middle of the summer, especially if there's no shade or a large umbrella to block the sun. There's a new patio table out this year that grows its own shade and will even water itself.

Dan Wood owns a company that makes "The Sonoma Mist" and says it's a "green" table for a "green" lifestyle.

"The center is a large planter box where you can plant a grapevine or wisteria, any of the climbing vines and have it climb up over the arbor's arms and create a natural shade," Wood says. "There's also a drip irrigation system built in the middle to water the plant."

If it's a really hot day, the system not only waters the plant, it will water you, too. There are mister tips in each of the arbor arms.

The table is bar-height, and the planter in the center holds 32 quarts of soil, plenty of space for large climbers to grow. Boston Ivy, Virginia Creeper and climbing hydrangeas are just a few other vining plants you could put in it.