You’ve heard of keeping up with the Jones’ before. How about keeping away from the Jones’? Sometimes having a bit of privacy for your yard is a great way to escape into your own paradise without the feeling of prying eyes. Seriously, weird guy who lives in a RV and drinks brandy from red Solo cups. What’s your deal? Perhaps today is a good day for pants?! I digress.
Now, you can go out and buy yourself a nice tall fence, repaint it every other year. mend it every 5 years and end up spending a fortune on it. But there is another way. Creating a natural growing fence can give you the privacy you seek. Creating a natural fence that provides you with food for the family is even better.
That’s what I chose to do on the back edge of my property. I removed an old wooden fence, that cut my yard in half, right after I bought my house. Unfortunately, it was too short to span the entire back of the lot, so I had to improvise. The fence was so old that it was falling apart way before I dug it up and dragged it to the back of the lot. A feat that was accomplished using ancient Egyptian lifting techniques skillfully wielded by myself until my back went out (the posts were still encased in cement). Regardless, I decided it had a few more years to its life, so I did it anyways. Old wood can provide a rustic feel which can really add charm once the surround plants get established and fill it in a bit (which hasn’t happened quite yet). But what to do about the rest of the span?
Here’s what I ended up with after the mammoth move and re-burying of the posts:
Not much to behold, I know. But it didn’t cost me a cent and it functions as a privacy fence. For now, that is. I didn’t want to pay to have half of a new fence installed just to meet up with an old fence that would have to be replaced in a few years anyways. Paying for an entire new fence was simply out of the question. So I opted for this solution instead:
It’s only been one growing season, and already my two foot tall passion fruit vine has filled in nicely! I also got more fruit off of that vine then I ever could have hoped for. And it’s still producing! Look at how full this beast has become:
Also, when it’s in bloom, which it still is, the flowers are the most unique and beautiful things I’ve seen!
Can you ever grow weary of seeing this in your yard? It’s like some visceral alien mutation. And once the bloom is done, just look at the delicious results!
I was thinking that kiwi might be another great privacy fence vine. With those, however, you need a male and a female. One day perhaps whereas they cost about $30-$40 each. I hope that this gives you a bit of inspiration. You can create whatever shapes you like, even an overhanging trellis would provide a delicious shady section to your garden. If you want it to continue to produce a bunch of fruit year after year, you’ll have to prune it a bit. The flowers only blooms on the current years growth. We’ll see how this one does without pruning until the privacy fence is full enough. A fast growing vine like this will allow you to realize your vision in no time at all. This vine is only 5 months old. Imagine what you could grow in a year or two. Go forth and get creative out there friends. But always remember to mind your dirt. (I’ll stop saying that real soon. Not. Quite. Yet though)
I am interested in growing some passion fruit, but was wondering what time of year is best to start it? Also, can I grow it out of a container, or does it have to be in the ground? I was thinking of getting a trough container and a leaning trellis thingie and having it grow up that if possible….your thoughts???
Hi Nikki. One thing you’ll soon discover about passion fruit is that getting it to grow will not be a real problem; in a pot or in the ground, especially if you get a variety that’s been grafted to common root stock. I’d shoot for a 15-20 gallon pot of any shape for it to reach its full glory. So long as they’re in well draining soil (mind your dirt!)and get plenty of sun (North facing is best), a potted passion fruit will do well. You can plant it after the cold of winter has passed and there’s no more frost. Early spring is the best time.
It will do so we’ll in fact, you’ll want to be sure that your trellis is very sturdy and handsomely secured!! A 2′ tall by 6″ wide plant will become a 10′ by 30′ beast. A healthy one will produce 300 plus fruit per year. That’s a lot of weight and you want to be ready because come early spring, that sucker will explode with vine growth and then fruit production.
An exciting prospect isn’t it? I found myself with a surplus in the very first growing season. I traded my extra fruit with Wow Wow Waffles in exchange for the best waffles I’ve had in my life (go there now). Local restaurants love fresh local grown organic passion fruit. Pay it forward and get tasty rewards. You can also give them as gifts to friends and family. Last I checked, organic passion fruit go for about $12 a pound so it’s a very nice gift!
The flowers are amazingly wonderful as well. They attract pollinators and even hummingbirds and the vine seems to bloom forever. If you can’t tell, I’m a huge fan of these flowers. They’re self pollinating too so you don’t need a male and female like you would with kiwi.
Another word of advice, the fruit only is produced on the current year’s growth so this vine likes a healthy pruning during the winter months. Almost a third of the last year’s growth! Keep the trunk and major branches intact when pruning and you can shape it as the space calls for. Get creative; if you make a mistake, it’ll grow back in no time at all
Of all the things I’ve planted in my yard, the passion fruit is among my favorites. It’s a bit thirsty for my part of San Diego, but so worth it. Keep me posted on your results and let me know if you have any more questions!
We prune it during the growing season as well,especially side shoots and leaves, too much leaf growth slows down fruit production and makes the fruits hard to find, perhaps you might grow it as a canopy instead of just straight up. Good luck and thanks for visiting our blog, I am sorry about the poor quality of our photos…..
Good idea! I’m making a patio roof out of grape vines in this nature. It’s great so far and I even have a few late blooming bunches dangling down right now. A roof that feeds you grapes is some next level architecture! Thanks for visiting Marco! I’m loving the makings of your grey water system. Cheers!
I have loved all Passifloras since the plant an I met. But formthe life of me I have never been able to get it to grow longer than say a month. What coud I be doing wrong? The alien flowers is what drew me in. And I love a good vine.
Ive not tured for 2 years to grow another one. But this year is my year. Im gonna find some seeds and grow. Mybe thats my problem. Ive always ordered it as a teenager online in the past.
Is there anything special you have found it thrives eating? How about the soil, is there something special you’ve found?
I absolutely love the living fence you’ve got goin on here. Curious to know how its doing.
Hi Jennifer. That vine is still growing out of control. I get tons of passion fruit every season from it too. I haven’t found it needing any attention either. Never really feed it too often and it doesn’t need a lot of water either.
The ones you’ve tried, have they been in the ground or in a pot? I think they’re harder to deal with when in a pot. Frost will also kill them. What part of the world are you in? I’m in a zone 9a I believe so they do well here.
I also get a small one gallon plant when I plant them. They grow so fast that anything larger is just a waste of money. I’ve never tried from seeds as I’m impatient.
Oh, also, be sure to hit that sweet sweet “follow” button up top. If you were to miss any new posts, I’d be racked with guilt 😉
A pot. Never had one in the ground. Im in San Jose, Ca. Believeing this is zone 9b? They hate pots, I’ve have had 3, all in pots all bought as teenagers. Guess my next venture with Passifloras is gonna be in the ground. Thank you for the knowledge!!
I love this idea for a privacy fence and the fact that you diy like I do for economical reasons. I think when you do it yourself it always is more impressive than an expensive store bought job. I live in south central Kentucky in Columbia, 100 miles from Louisville and Lexington, don’t know if passion fruit will thrive Or even grow here but I am intrigued and am definitely gonna do some research to try and find out. Thank you so much for inviting us into your garden.
Thanks for your comment Connie! I think passion fruit would die back in your winters. Perhaps a more hearty vine would be better for you? Not sure if kiwi would work or not?
Let me know what your research uncovers though! I’m curious.
Yours,
James
Any luck with finding a passion fruit vine that does well in your zone?