I am looking for the fastest growing perennial vine to plant at the fence of the house we are moving into. The landlord is willing to pay for the plants if they are perennials. We have a chain link fence around a yard w/ lots of sun, so I think vines would be cooling, but they have to be edible w/out poisonous berries and flowers for my daughter's sake. I hope you all have suggestions!
Well, I do suggest you first read the post here about the Chinese wisteria before going ahead. I also have experience of a grape vine that came with a house we bought years ago, and you probably couldn't count high enough to match the bags and boxes it took to pack it all up after tearing it down (and that includes what ended up on the neighbour's garage, and the backyard of another one).
Wisterias and grapes are big plants, unless pruned faithfully. When planting a climber you must choose one that has a size expectation that corresponds to the space available, same as with any other kind of plant, if you do not want it to be likely to exceed that space by a wide margin.
have you considered growing vegetables......im thinking climbing french beans, runner beans..just an idea :D (i know they're not perennial)
oscar's made a good suggestion re beans. To have all of the things you need is asking quite a lot, particularly the perennial part (or the edible part) and also considering the constraints of geography. 'Painted Lady' scarlet runner bean might be something to consider, if you would consider annuals - bright coloured flowers and edible (University of Florida extension).
