Time to hop to it

The name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, is difficult to spell and would be impossible to enunciate after two glasses of wine, but how could you not want to grow something called Humulus lupulus? Or, as they’re more commonly known, hops.

Hops are perennial climbers and although we mostly associate them with the production of beer, they also make gorgeous climbers in the garden. If you’re after a cheap screening plant, this is it, not because it’s particularly well- priced, but because you’ll only need one. Your single plant will take off and you can easily make more if you want. They can be propagated by division or by taking cuttings from an established plant.

Like so many climbers, they’re easily pleased. Simply provide average soil, sun and a frame/ fence about two metres tall.

The vines are typically cut back in late autumn after harvest and regenerate in spring. I’ve read that you can eat the new spring tendrils, which taste like asparagus, not beer.