I don't have any suggestions on plants... but, my husband is after me to grow hops since he brews his own beer. Any suggestions? I googled it and the plants grow so tall, will they take over my yard?

My experience in California growing hops was a good one. You start by buying a small twig like thing called a rhizome. They have an eye like a potatoe that you plant facing up. I have very sandy soil, and they seemed to love it. I started growing them in the ground, but they are quite invasive, so I began putting them in plastic 55 gallon drums that I cut in half with a skill saw (about one third of the drum's height for each "half", pitching the band in the middle). It took me a couple of years, but pretty soon that rhizome formed a massive network, and it was easy to cut off chunks, and start new barrels. When I moved I left these for the new owner, and I think he wanted them! I wish I had a barrel now to start another set. There are several varieties, but Cascade seems to be the hardiest for Texas, and its a very common hop for beer making. The real trick, though, it that they have to go up...like 12 ft.! I attached two tall 4X4s to my back fence, and ran clothes line between them. The I put twine vertically down to the barrels. When they are ready to harvest, you have created a big green wall of hop plants. I found a website where some guy in Texas makes his own derrick like support for his hops. I'd prefer a South facing fence to protect agaist the wind. You don't really get that many hops by wieght, and I would simply brew with the fresh picked hops to avoid the need for drying. They can be dried by sandwiching them between a couple of screen doors for a couple of days. My buddy just told me that hop prices are going through the roof right now, so a home brewer could justify the work in a couple of years. The plants are quite pretty, and some people weave baskets from the stripped vines. Hope this helps.