Japie, Very nice photos! I really like Manoa Beauty, and your Royal Cordovan looks great! Lisa had it right. I've informed Michael K. and Brian Weber about the name change, and I think I've told the story here before, too. The N. (princeps x Fireball) x 'Peggy Pollard' is a hybrid by Gary Hendrix that he finally registered in Jan. '06 as N. 'Bob Work'. It looks as though it's widely grown by members of this forum, and deservedly so! The seed parent (princeps x Fireball) is Gary's hybrid which he registered as N. 'Granada'. Gary told me that N. 'Peggy Pollard' (on my original label it was 'Peggy Pollard #13') was a plant that he got from Peggy Pollard's garden that later turned out to be properly identified as N. burlemarxii. hdd, I've had some fun hybridizing with it, too! Japie, Bob may be right in suggesting Ae. 'Fulgo ramosa'. Bullis also registered the discolor selection as Ae. 'Shining Light'. I don't know if it's the same plant masquerading in commerce under two different names, but I can't tell them apart by the photos on fcbs. Paul

I am in SW WA and have a similar problem. We're on a hill and have woods around us, except the SW exposure of the house. It gets 3-4 hours of hot afternoon sun. We have white stone siding and the whole area gets exceedingly warm. Many things I've tried there wilt in the pm, and/or just don't do well. The best perennial I've found is something that was tagged "Texas Sage" and it's one of those greggii sages. Loves it there. One cultivar, Hot Lips, is really happy - I bought a whole mess of them. Another plant that does well, surprisingly, is fleabane. It's low growing habit probably keeps it cool. And of course, there's always Walker's Low Nepeta. I know these aren't climbing, but they might help someone. I myself am heading out first thing tomorrow for some clematis and some of Zoomermom's suggestions.

'Mariesii' wouldn't stand any chance in z5. Even here in z6b it blooms very rarely cause it buds start swelling very early and and more often than not killed by Feb-March frosts. If you are interested in foliage alone that might make a sense. Arborescens 'Annabelle' blooms for me reliably in 100% shade between and under 2 very old oaks:

Your county extension office can test your soil for you. You can either find them on your county's website, or if you're a technophobe or just can't find the dang folk, call your library and they will be able to get you in touch with them. There are a lot of really nice morning plants. How big would you like them to get? Loropetalum is a great shrub; it's purple leaved, semi-evergreen, touch and flowers bright pink. There are several varieties available that get different sizes. Gardenias, camelias and azaleas are all nice plants but they require special site preparation and fertilizers. There are some nice hollies out there, some with berries that feed the birds. I saw a great-looking variegated holly at Calloway's the other day. If you want stuff that stays low, say under a window, part-sun perennials can work too. Crinums, ginger, balloon flower, columbine, elephant ears for a tropical look ... Lots of really great options! I would get your soil tested, think about how much you're willing to do in terms of site preparation and care (fertilizers and water), what size plants you need, whether you want to deal with pruning, and maybe what kind of colors you're going for.