don't do ivy! please! there are so many great vines you can do, especially if you have mixed conditions. i don't send plants in the mail anymore, but some nice native selections would be sweet autumn clematis (sun or shade, semi evergreen), cross vine-bignonia (sun/shade semievergreen), carolina gessamine (sun for best bloom, evergreen) trumpet vine (sun, decid.), smilax (sun or shade & evergreen), clematis viorna (sun, decid.), coral honeysuckle (sun, decid.), and dutchman's pipe-aristolochia (shade or sun, decid.). some non natives would be climbing hydrangea, silver lace vine, climbing fern-lygopodium, and climbing roses. and if you wanted to venture into possible edibles you could try passion flower, aka maypops, artic kiwi, which has very nicely variegated foliage, magnolia vine-schizandra, wineberries, which will fruit in the shade, and grapevines. all of those last 2 groups are deciduous. there are evergreens other than ivy that you could use for screening, with the more interesting things interspersed. i can't think of any more off the top, but am sure someone else will speak up. there are lots of annuals that could fill in faster for you while you waited for your perennials . just don't do ivy, which is an invasive nuisance, or japanese honesuckle, which is just as bad, though it does smell divine. some of the others can be pretty invasive, too, so be careful to maintain it. any vine that grows fast or sets lots of seed has that potential. talk to a local nursery or ck a book out to find more possibilities. you essentially have a great vertical gardening opportunity- have fun with it!

My climbing hydrangea was slow to establish and it does go totally naked in the winter, so no privacy factor there. Mine's on a 9' high solid timber retaining wall so has plenty of surface to grab onto, not sure how it would do on open, wrought iron lattice. Again, not sure about your zone - and too lazy to look it up! - what about five leaf akebia (aka chocolate vine)? It's semi-evergreen, grows very fast and is most talented at twining itself up and all over w/little guidance. I have one plant on each east and west walls of a wood fence (4' solid slat topped w/1' of lattice) - each plant now spans about 15-20 linear feet in each direction from the base. It has climbed up bird feeder supports so now they're in leafy grottos and I do have to watch that it doesn't hitchhike on to overhanging tree limbs - small maintenance price to pay for a great vine! If hardy in your zone, this might be worth a look.

Akebia is another possibility--beautiful evergreen vine, very hearty and fast growing. In the spring, it has tiny purple flowers. It grows up columns at the Summit, an outdoor mall in Birmingham and is gorgeous!! I purchased a plant after seeing it at the Summit and have had it about three years and am very pleased with it. It also roots very easily. It is also called chocolate plant. You can go to Hortiplex at Garden Web and see pictures and read more about it.

Jasmine or Carolina Jessamine would be evergreen in your zone. They bloom in spring. CJ has yellow blooms. Jasmine has white. As well as a variegated ivy would look nice. The ivy would not need support, it clings by little suckers or feet. It "could" damage your siding, though. I would check with someone who knows something about siding, unless you get another response here from someone who knows about siding. I have brick, so I don't know. Anything that doesn't use that kind of method to climb or cling, is going to need help (that would be the twiners). Susan