In 2020, I had a bunch of passion fruit vines that grew on my property. I loved having them around for a bunch of reasons. The flowers are incredibly pretty with a very exotic look to them. The big stamens and pistil are really cool looking as are the tassel-like petals and the petal-like bracts. The vines are also really interesting since they will twist and curl around just about anything as they climb up whatever is around. Some of the curls are a solid green color while others have a touch of pink or purple. When the fruit arrives, later in the summer, it is delicious.

Last year we had a spring drought and the passion fruit vines didn’t do well. That’s why I was excited to begin seeing them again this spring, but I was only cautiously optimistic about how well they would do. We haven’t been as dry this year as last, but still drier than usual, so I’ve been keeping an eye on my vines, but I think it’s safe to say that they’re doing okay. There are plenty of flowers and even a few early fruits. And that leads me to the last reason I like these vines so much…They attract lots of pollinators (like this carpenter ant) and later other wildlife that enjoy the fruit. I’m looking forward to seeing what they will bring around this year!