If you look at photos of Tuscany, in the narrow streets of the towns they will have lush growth of star jasmine growing in big pots beside their doorways. And, that plant will grow to cover many high places. I absolutely LOVE the way they use it around their homes. It is I think trachelospermum jasminoides? Something like that anyway. And it is evergreen in that climate, and in mine as well--meaning 8B Alabama. I think shading the pot would be a good idea, even though the plant upper parts can take a lot of sun. Cluster other pots around it. No, I do not think your redwood planter boxes would be the proper containers for this plant. Ideally, put it in the ground and leave it alone. It will bloom magnificently in April and May here, and you can plant another vine like clematis to grow up its strong body seasonally. In my case, after returning home from a stay in the Tuscan area of Italy, I was inspired by what I saw there. I've now planted the star jasmine along a 100 foot length of chain link fencing to let it become a blooming and scented privacy screen. It will take maybe two years for it to reach the top of this 7 foot tall fence, but not long after that it will fill in. I know very well how vigorous it becomes, because one plant put into the ground about 4 years ago has formed a dense fat column (maybe 4 foot in diameter) around a 4x4 post in my front yard. The star jasmine is as far as my experience tells, pest free, can take heat and dryness if in the ground and established, and does not harm any brick or wood because it does not attach to anything. I just potted up a good sized plant for my brother to use on his upper deck in Louisiana, where it will grow along the railing facing the street for privacy soon enough. I'm a true fan of this plant, which can be turned into a hedge covering a small fence if you like, or left to its own devices if you want something growing with abandon. It smells wonderful when in bloom, great around a patio. Here is a picture of the first ones I put in the ground at MoccasinLanding, my old home: And then here is one photo of the plant in Italy, as a hedge on low fencing around a swimming pool. It is also the plant which covers the pergola in the background: And then here is the plant used in a large deep pot climbing up a building in Italy also: Your redwood boxes could be used this way to front the pots: This is an ordinary nandina domestica in the sort of pot I'm thinking to use for your jasmine. It has little clay feet to keep it up for good drainage as you see: This rose sort of espaliered to the stone wall of the villa has only a small open planting hole in the paving for its roots, however that works. Again, star jasmine covers this otherwise plain wall: This area of Italy has a lot of clay, terra cotta if you will, and I believe this is where the mother lode of Italian terra cotta pots and earthen ware artwork originates. So I'd suggest you get a good sized (big) terra cotta pot for your vine, whatever you choose to plant. It might be possible to put something else for a vertical look, like an Italian cypress, which is tall and skinny and evergreen. Hope this gives you some ideas.

Problem with many perennial vines that are native to the south is that they are "hard wired" to grow fast and take advantage of forest openings. Trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), Alabama supplejack (Berchemia scandens) and confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) are my favorites. Maypops are considered a pest by most landowners that I deal with... but they bear a truly beautiful flower. I would suggest you stay away from honeysuckle if you are in an area of our state with a high deer population. Particularly if you water and fertilize it, as it turns into a very high quality deer browse indeed when that happens. I own some land in Macon County where I cannot show you a single honeysuckle plant on the entire 80 acre tract. It is considered deer "ice cream". Planted 3 acres of cowpeas for deer browse a few years ago on that same tract. Never did it again as the entire 3 acre wildlife opening was obliterated by deer when they got about 3 inches tall (kinda the intent, but not that early that hard) Oh, and don't think a deer will stay out of your yard, because they will not hesitate to come in and eat every plant you have if they discover a fully watered and fertilized banquet. I would steer clear of wisteria, as it can be quite invasive (worse than ivy) unless you REALLY keep it trimmed back. Oh yea, and you're gonna need to use some herbicide on the ivy if you want it taken out completely. Nothing soil active, if you have trees or other plants nearby. good luck

Yes, but it won't in much shade :-) It needs summer heat (which we don't always receive) and is not self-fertile either, so needs a second variety to cross pollinate. While the fruit is a curiosity and certainly interesting, I'd not consider it a stellar menu item - unpleasant, gummy and pulpy texture with a slightly sweet taste. Think a combination of watered down tapioca and sweet, non-fishy caviar :-) Our display plant at the nursery, in a very exposed location, still has most of its foliage, although rather ratty looking at the moment. You didn't get hit with those two strong cold fronts we experienced this winter - one in November, the second just last month? We had temps in the teens (farenheit) in some areas here. I'm surprised you didn't experience something similar up north.

I spent much of my gardening time pulling up my neighbors ivy that creeps in through the fence. I would NEVER plant ivy here. Maybe the variegated kind or boston ivy? Not the common (English) ivy that's eating up much of the peninsula. The star jasmine and trumpet vine have been in place for 6-8 months. I might start a few more vines and see what survives later in the summer. The "Happy Wanderer" lilac vine is really popular in my area but I haven't seen it in shade. There are clematis vines that do OK in shade but they dont seem robust enough to cover a fence or a wall Just to warn you that creeping fig and any other vine that cling to walls will cause some damage if they need to be pulled off for some reason.