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!

Thank you for these many kind thoughts. I do love the Chamaecypari nootkatensis pendula -- we put one in the front of our house -- but thought the cost of a bunch of these would be prohibitive. On the other hand, no solution will be inexpensive and at least the one we put in under similar conditions seems happy. The one hemlock I have planted has been attacked by the adelgid already, despite dormant oil sprays. Has anyone had experience with the adelgid-eating beetle, and doesn't that seem like a risky intervention? Easy to imagine bamboo escaping my control and then we'll be living on something like the set of Apocalypse Now. American holly is great, but have already had some leaf miner adventures with our two. Granted that was dealt with pretty easily. Some Thuja nigra in the front are doing well, in full sun. A mix of the trees you all have mentioned would be best, but have trouble visualizing a good "rhythm" of alternating species -- threes and fives? Some pointy, some pendula? Some colors especially successful when juxtaposed? If a particularly nice combination comes to mind that you have seen, please mention it. Grateful for your good thoughts and suggestions. Lynn

Denise, at the very least, we need to know where you are located to make suggestions. In many areas, the list of evergreen climbers is very short and none come to mind that would rapidly achieve the height you want - at least none that I would recommend with a clear conscience. You might be better off with some narrow evergreen screening but what that might be is determined best by where you live. Fill out your Member Page with at least your climate zone and growing conditions or amend your request with this info. The more we know the better we can help you.

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.