I received 3 helianthus "lemon queen" for mother's day. Unfortunately 2 of them didn't make it, but the 3rd one did... just barely. Seems, as the plant was just taking off, a ball from over the fence broke most of it off. It has since regrown but hasn't bloomed yet. I also just received 2 replacements from the company my daughter bought the originals from and will plant them as soon as it stops raining. (I may just have to build an ark if it doesn't stop soon!) I've also acquired some Boltonia from a neighbor and bought a black sambucus. Let's see... from seed I started some perennial sunflowers and heliopsis. Most of the new perennials did pretty good this first year but I imagine they'll do even better in the coming years! In the meantime, to fill in the gaps until the perennials fill out I planted tithonia, annual sunflowers, along with scarlet runner beans. Next spring I'm going to transplant a clematis too. All in all it was a successful year keeping the little darlings at bay. They've also made friends in the neighborhood and, now that they're a little older, mom lets them go to the friends' houses so most of the time they're gone. Peace at last. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions!

You've gotten some great suggestions! I love bower vine too, especially the variegated forms. Another good candidate is 'Tangerine Beauty' crossvine (Bignonia). I've had one on a hot south facing wall for three years here in Scottsdale, AZ and it's done great, blooming off and on all year. I was torn between it and bower vine, but since I like hot colors, I went with the crossvine. Here's a pic of mine: 'Tangerine Beauty' Bignonia vine This is NOT the same plant as trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) which is beautiful and aggressive in many climates. Mine has been very well behaved. Like bower vine, it needs help climbing, although unlike bower vine, it also produces small tendrils which help it grab on to vertical surfaces too. Hopefully you'll get some more suggestions too. Let us know who the lucky winner is and how it works out. Take care, Grant Here is a link that might be useful: My orange crossvine on a south facing wall

The very nature of a vine is to grow as much as possible and all can become "invasive" after awhile unless vigorously controlled. The 3 you mention will grow to cover the fence but you'd have to keep after them as they can also crawl along the ground and get into any nearby trees or shrubs. You may want to consider clematis - perhaps mixing types to get blooms from spring through summer. Some of the type 3s can grow quite strongly but can then be cut back to a couple pairs of buds each year. The type 1s & 2s can form a woody trunk that would remain in place to resprout new growth.

Hardenbergia certainly wont and I don't think the Pandorea will either, though I've not planted that, it might need keeping an eye on. As you're in Melbourne I'd try a few Clematis: Aristata (old man's beard) and C. Glycinoides are Aussie natives. Neither produce flowers as dramatic as the non-native varieties but worth a place in the garden. Clematis do need special treatment however, but are certainly not difficult and there are many sites covering their varieties and cultivation. By the way, I posted a pic. of one a few weeks ago in the 'Gallery' page (next one below this page, I think).