Highland hops help give the city of Denver its distinct flavor: Kenny Be's Hip Tip

Early residents of the treeless Highland neighborhood were able to cool their homes from the punishing heat of Denver's summer sun by growing fast-growing hop plants. In the fall, the nearby Tivoli and Zang's breweries would buy the bounty of Highland's harvested hop cones to add a distinct flavor to their Denver-brewed beers...

As illustrated on the seed packet shown above, the prolific Highland Hop plant will completely cover the Highland Bridge or any structure to which it is tethered for support. The hardy perennial has been known to grow four inches an hour during the high heat of summer -- if watered properly. Each Highland hop bine (similar to a vine, but helix-shaped) will grow to 25 feet and produce two to four pounds of hops.

Like the residents of the neighborhood, Highland hops will dominate a yard and completely overtake a garden. Developers report that the Highland hops plants of older homes that are scraped for redevelopment will grow back to completely cover the new replacement townhouses unless the top 25 inches of soil are removed!

More from our Kenny Be/Comics archive: "Designer fences create beautiful personal boundaries: Kenny Be's Yard Arteology."