i have hardy kiwi growing. i can't speak as to how much the actinidia kolomikta (arctic kiwi, nice variegation) kind flowers, but it may not be as much as the regular hardies, and i don't think they get as big, but they do prefer partial shade. you probably don't want a regular hardy (a. arguta)- they are large vines that like to take over. they only bloom for a couple weeks in spring and i haven't noticed them being especially bee magnets. they do smell good, but you'd have to prune them 3x a summer to keep them in bounds on something that small. the fruit is yummy, though. issai would be the exception for the argutas- it's less vigorous, and as a bonus bears edible fruit without a mate. there's another kind called silver vine or something like that but i don't know much about it. fuzzies are as large and hardies, but more prone to frost damage. the vines have nice heart shaped leaves with red petioles. the problem is they put out around 20' of growth a year, and need a strong trellis- they are heavy. kiwis are not evergreen, either. aristolochias have nice foliage and neat flowers when they come, as does hydrangea vine, but i think both prefer partial shade and both are deciduous. remember, not everything that blooms will draw tons of bees. have you considered a rose? they are semievergreen here, there are lots that rebloom and are less care, and even some that are not so thorny (like lady banks, but i don't think it reblooms). i have a trellis that i walk through all the time with pink pillar, work of art and a rose colored honeysuckle on, and bees have never been an issue for me (and pink pillar is quite thorny). my conditions are similar to yours- it gets hot late aft sun and they've done well. vines & blooms will tend to be on the outside to get more sun, so i don't think that's as much of an issue as it could be, especially if you plan for it to be wide enough to accomodate the width of the vines when they've bushed out and still have room to walk. consider that you may want to mix a few things to get a variety of blooms, bloom time and foliage. that way you can kinda have it all. try to look at it as a fun choice, not a hard decision.

Game bird, Your list of 'requirements' is pretty exacting and there are not many vines that will perform that way on such a narrow trellis. Most vines I've grown have branched out just fine, although as Moni mentioned, sometimes you have to take some time early on to direct the plant's growth horizontally through the trellis, arbor or fence if it is growing strongly upright. Sometimes I spend a little time 'weaving' a young vine horizontally early in the season, but even when I don't, they eventually grow laterally on their own even if their original growth was mostly upward. Most vines climb as high as they can and then when they reach the top of their support, they go sideways, or droop and hang back down. Some will climb onto the roof if you don't prune them at the top. After all, they are programmed to grow upward and don't have a self-limiting gene that makes them grow X number of feet and then just stop growing. Asarina (vining snapdragon) is a slower grower but might not be vigorous enough to outcompete the mint or to give you the shade you're seeking. Black-eyed Susan Vine is a very lovely annual vine. I grow it on my garden fence and it seems to spread upward and sideways both, although sometimes I do take a few moments to weave it sideways to spread horizontally because it reseeds every year and doesn't always reseed evenly and I don't like big gaps in the wall of green. Both Cypress Vine and Cardinal Climber have a lighter, airy foliage. They'll climb as high as the nearest support but don't get terribly heavy due to their airy foliage. They'd only give you light to moderate shade though, not heavy shade. American Cross Vine might be a good contender. I have it in very poor clay soil and it climbs a 7' arbor and pretty much stays there. It gets only rainfall (as little as 18" or 20" in a drought year) and no irrigation, though, so that and the concrete-hard unimproved soil where it grows might be limiting its size here. It is semi-evergreen and hummingbirds love it. It is tougher than it sounds, though because it grows on an arbor with the yellow-flowered 'Flava' trumpet creeper vine, and the trumpet creeper vine does not outcompete it. Mina lobata is an annual vine with gorgeous flowers but is very vigorous. Mine climbed its trellis and then started climbing the wall of the house. If you grew it, you probably could prune it back weekly after it reached the top of the trellis, but it certainly wouldn't stop trying to climb higher. If those were my trellises, I'd likely plant moonflower vine because of the sheer beauty of the vine's leaves and flowers. It doesn't start blooming until mid-summer, but once it is blooming, we make it a point to be out in the yard when the lovely white flowers begin opening up in the evening. They all open up quickly and at about the same time and it is spectacular. I think it spreads out a little more horizontally on its own than its relative, the morning glory. It also has a lovely fragrance from the time it blooms in the evening until the next morning when the flowers close up. Other than cross vine, I don't know of any perennial vine that will remain the size you want without pruning and they likely will need some training to get them to spread outward and not so much upward. Some of the annual tropical vines like allamanda or mandeville would be lovely, but you'd have to plant new ones every year or dig them up and overwinter them in pots indoors. Dawn

Thank you, ghoghunter (Joann), toad08 (crazy that we're both 08s!), and butterfly4u for you replies and advice. I really do appreciate your wisdom, as I am really pretty new to gardening (though, I am finding it to be an addictive, enjoyable--but expensive :)--hobby! I am sorry that it has taken me this long to say thank you and address each of your posts. ghoghunter- I had heard of dutchman's pipe and I do like it. I will do some more research on it a a climber for my tree. I do know a bit about trumpet vine as well--my mother has one growing on a large brush pile she has at the back of her 6 acre property and it is absolutely gorgeous. I would love to plant trumpet vine...but the tree is too close to my house and I know it spreads like wildfire, so that is not an option. Thanks again for your suggestions! toad08- Chester County, PA is in zone 6--sorry I forgot to include that! I was under the impression that American Wisteria is "safer" :) and much less aggressive than Chinese Wisteria/non-native wisteria? The woman at the garden center where I purchased it said that growing it on my pergola would be fine, but that some pruning would be necesary of course. Maybe I am too naive and she was just making a sale :) Could you tell me a little more about the differences between American and Chinese wisteria? I have done some research on the web and did not find anything to make me think planting it where I did was a huge mistake. Please take no offense--I'm not trying to sound rude at all! I just want to know from an experienced gardener their personal experiences with American wisteria vs. Chinese, ect. Since we are not in the same zone though...not sure how that affects the question/answers... Thanks again for all! butterfly4u- Wow! Thank you for so much input! I will talk to someone about my dead tree before I go through with any planting of any vine. The tree is not totally dead though, I've come to realize more and more. There are lots of leaves on the side that was not struck by lightening and it looks healthy besides the charred side (not the whole side either, just a blaze) So, perhaps I need not worry about the tree so much as worrying about not killing it further with a vine? I would just like to conceal the charring. But, again, I will most defidenly consult a professional first--I feel stupid b/c I never even thought of that! Thank you!! I did look up the climbing hydrangea and it is lovely! I will consider it for the tree (if I am given the go-ahead) but for sure another spot in the yard--I have a tall fence that could use some sprucing up...would this vine work for that spot (7' tall, flat panel pine privacy fence)? Any further advice or experience would be very much appreciated! As for the wisteria...as I said above, I thought that American Wisteria was much less agressive and safe for the house than a non-native wisteria? Well, mayber dumb question, as you stated that your girlfriend has one that she uses a ladder to reach to prune--sorry!! I'm fine with ladders/heights, so that is not an issue. How should I help the wisteria to climb up to the actual pergola since it cannot climb the square post? The post may not even be 10" on each side...how small an object does a wisteria need to twine around? I thought since it was so heavy a vine that a larger object would be good? I know the stems become very thick. You know more than me though...please advise as to what material (sorry, oh god--you said wire! I'm sorry to be so careless!--see last sentence please) to attach to the post to get it to climb and how to actually train the vine onto that object, if you can--much appreciated! **How do I attach the wire and what kind of wire? Not to be completely sounding idiotic...but, like how much space between the post so the vine can twine between the wire and post? Thank you, thank you, thank you! Kind Regards-- Lauren

I don't have a garage or shed (am in a hi-rise but was in a house for years before and do some vertical gardening on my balcony wall), but I do have vines for hummingbirds and recently butterflies have been visiting too (yes I get both up here...lol). Regarding your suggestions, you bring up good points and counter-points regarding trellising against a shed wall. Wood does rot after awhile (even with paint) and metal can rust and crumble after awhile (even with paint). It would be nice if one could find a similar large wall trellis in PVC (I know there are smaller ones that are tall but usually narrow too, but that might be something to think about to use). What I can offer would be like a small scale experience to help describe what the vines you are considering might do and the type of support you might need. Some of the vines that hummers like do include the honeysuckles, but if you choose a native (Loncera sempervirens), then those don't grow as aggressively or are as invasive as the japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). There are many named varieties of the natives and my hummers couldn't wait until the flowers started opening yesterday and they were all over it. Mine ("Blanche Sandman") is in a pot and supported by a decorative vinyl-coated metal trellis. Interestingly, that honeysuckle seems a bit reticent to twine like other honeysuckles so it would basically mean manually threading it around the support and/or tying them initially until they are on their way. My other honeysuckle - a "Mandarin" (Lonicera x mandarin) does twine quite readily on its own and that is on a small wooden trellis support and yep, the hummers like that one too). But as a note, as a twiner, honeysuckles may have some difficulty going around something too large in diameter, although being woody vines, they do better than the annual vines on wider supports. Similarly, my American wisteria, which is not as aggressive as its asian cousins and as a woody vine, can twine better around a wider support, but the thinner the easier for it. My Blanche Sandman honeysuckle looks like this right now (sorry for the hazy picture but it's hazy here...ugh... this is its 2nd year with me, it was from a 1 gallon size plant that I got last year). These have a tendency for bare bottoms (I have seen larger specimens do similar) with a mass of vinelettes and flowers towards the top (unless you prune to make it bushier - the japanese honeysuckle tends to do the long vines): The SRBs, cypress vines and cardinal climbers have thinner vine shoots and need a finer support to attach to. I have seen some interesting suggestions for that on the large scale where one can string fishing line up for them. Since they are annuals (and the cardinal climber is in the colder areas although they might reseed), and unless you can find white or clear netting, using fishing line might be more aesthetically neutral in winter when the support area is exposed after they die back. The crossvine and trumpet vine are woody like honeysuckle and sortof twine but can become shrubby as well. So for any of the woody vines, a good solid support would be a must. The trumpet vine can get aggressive so unless you are willing to hack it back (I have seen people grow it like a standard), then you might want to reconsider. The crossvine might get that way too, although it's not as aggressive and there are some pretty cultivars out there. If you did decide on clematis (I have one on a cheapy tomato cage) it depends on the type as the group 3s like I have can be cut to the ground every year and will bloom on new growth (meaning for a trellis, it needs to be re-trained each year), whereas the group 1s and 2s maintain a woody structure and require minimal pruning. These attach via their leafs, which wrap around the support, so too thick or wide a support and they can't climb well on their own and they will attach to themselves and then fall over in a tangled mess. But for the ones maintaining a woody structure, if you thread and train the vine (even tie it up), you can shape it permanently. For attaching to a wall, it's probably best to have it on a stand-off (maybe a few inches out) so that you can get behind it and allow the plants to be woven around and through it easier. Plus it keeps the back of the plants off a hot wall and allows some air to move behind. Anyway, hope this helps a little - when I was composing this, I saw a butterfly that I wasn't sure of. Someone from above was looking out for me because I took a WAG and checked a PA butterfly site and immediately ID'd it on a first try as a silver-spotted skipper. I have alot of red flowers blooming up here right now and I guess it saw those and the leaves of my wisteria and maybe thought the wisteria was a locust tree or related (these apparently like pea family plants and the wisteria leaves resemble such): I did have a visit from an Eastern Black swallowtail last weekend: And I'm still trying to get a good picture of my hummers this year but here's a rare one from last year where 2 were sitting not far from each other and had they known the other was there, the mad chase would have errupted (plus you can see my volunteer MGs around the shepherd's hook where the feeder was hung - they did use the MGs as they were closing by the way):