Anything that flowers will attract all kinds of pollinator type insects, but you already know that. If the dog is outside during the day, but inside at night, you might want to choose something that blooms at night, like the moonflower vine (Ipomoea alba) which has flowers that open in the evening and close in the morning. I'm not a huge fan of gourd vine in prime locations. They look great early in the season when the leaves are fresh and bright green, but as the season wears on, the leaves often become much less attractive as they show damage from insects and disease. I like to grow gourd vines on the fence near the veggie garden, or on the fence around the dog yard, but not especially close to the doors, porches or patio. Among annual vines, you have many flowering options including: moonflower vine, morning glory, black-eyed susan vine, cypress vine, cardinal climber vine, canary creeper vine, hyacinth vine (gorgeous foliage and flowers that somewhat resemble wisteria blossoms) and blooms relatively late in the summer; scarlet runner bean, or firecracker vine (mina lobata). I grow all of these around the landscape and they do attract bees and other pollinators, but I've never been bitten by any of those flying insects and (as far as I know) neither have the dogs nor cats. If you want a more tropical appearance, you could plant a flowering tropical vine like allamanda, mandeville, jasmine, corkscrew vine, or passionflower vine. Of those, passionflower is most likely to overwinter in a large container, but the others would die in the winter and have to replaced. I wouldn't plant trumpet creeper because it probably would be too heavy and too vigorous although it is cold hardy enough to survive the winter in a large container. You could plant either a honeysuckle like "Pink Lemonade" or American Cross Vine and they probably would survive winter in a container too. You could plant either the white-flowered or yellow-flowered form of Lady Banks' Rose in a very large container. Lady Banks only blooms once in the spring and then you'd just have the foliage the rest of the year. I'm sure other people with have other ideas as well. Dawn

I realize this is an older post but I wanted to bring to people's attention the danger in this. Two years ago I planted a gorgeous climbing ivy at the base of a hideous hydro pole right outside my house (I live in the city so these things are crazy close). This past month, it had successfully made it to the top of the post - covering it all and looking glorious. I was quite pleased. Unfortunately sometime last night, the vine must have connected to the live line and the entire thing fried right up to a point at about eye level on the post where there is a metal ring. I guess the metal ring broke the surge so the plant from that point down is still alive. Silly me, I was touching the vine trying to figure out if someone cut it on me. Nothing happened thankfully while I was doing this but had I been daft enough to cut it, I could have died. It turns out that the sap acts as a conduit. We now are going to hack off of the dead part with a sharpened wooden instrument while wearing rubber boots. The rest will have to sit there looking dead and hideous as I dread calling the hydro company and getting billed for them to clean up the mess. So moral of the story, as tempting as it is to improve these ghastly things, think twice...

Within 4 years of spotting the original plant, I was fighting runners that had travelled 60+ feet. I know it was the same plant, because in trying to dig up the new ones, I was pulling up the runner all the way along the distance. Runners went out that far in all directions. Oh, and those were only the farthest outliers.... Literally hundreds of starts were coming up close and far, everywhere. The runners branched frequently, and crossed each other, and covered my world. Completely destroying the original plant [I don't want to get started on the difficulties there.] did no good. The runners were self-standing, and putting out more runners. On the parking lot side, the adorable little root sprouts *regularly* pushed their way through undamaged asphalt, many feet into the parking lot area. First a little raised dimple. Then larger. Then a crack. Then another trumpet vine. It laughs at Round-Up. Brush-Be-Gone will kill the one treated runner back, but not just by spraying.... You have to wangle continued application to the cut vine end. But then the rest of the underground system just puts out more runners. I know that some people have had reasonable luck with this plant, but I wouldn't take the risk if I were you. Here, this stuff thrives in good loam and in lousy clay subsoil and in beach-sand construction fill, in sun and deep shade, dry areas, damp areas, neutral and alkaline. Unless you are *absolutely sure* that this vine is an easily managed pussy-cat in your area, don't go there.

It sounds like you may have an alkaline soil. That means that Bauhinias (orchid trees) may not thrive there. Here you have some links for the Sweet Almond Verbena, Mountain Laurel,Vitex and evergreen sumac: http://www.google.com/search?q=sweet+almond+verbena&hl=en&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=l678T_WlIofs8wT5pNHnBg&ved=0CEEQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=638 Omar http://www.google.com/search?q=sophora+secundiflora+texas+mountain+laurel&hl=en&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=H6_8T_62K4mk8QTji8HmBg&ved=0CEcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=638 http://www.google.com/search?q=sophora+secundiflora+texas+mountain+laurel&hl=en&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=H6_8T_62K4mk8QTji8HmBg&ved=0CEcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=638#hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=vitex+chaste+tree&oq=vitex+&gs_l=img.1.6.0l10.341.5663.4.10738.8.8.0.0.0.1.234.1584.0j5j3.8.0...0.0.UoJ8p7qF6Jo&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=52766ec3f46d336f&biw=1024&bih=638 http://www.google.com/search?q=sophora+secundiflora+texas+mountain+laurel&hl=en&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=H6_8T_62K4mk8QTji8HmBg&ved=0CEcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=638#hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=rhus+virens+evergreen+sumac&oq=evergreen+sumac&gs_l=img.1.5.0l2j0i24l3j0i5i24.181.181.10.44267.1.1.0.0.0.0.288.288.2-1.1.0...0.0.8HuqkmDLNek&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=52766ec3f46d336f&biw=1024&bih=638