I believe there are only 2 species of Aristolochia (Dutchman's pipevine) that are hardy to New England, A. macrophylla and A. tomentosa. They are a fast growing perennial vine, but I don't think they're evergreen. I started A. tomentosa from seed last year (winter 2008). I got 5 healthy seedlings and potted them in small pots. They made it through the winter 2009 fine, but they are still in pots! I wish I had a fence to grow them on, haven't figured out where to put them yet. Sigh.

There's lots of edible plants that would grow on a pallet fence. Some of them will climb on their own, and others will need for you to get them started climbing and then they'll do fine on their own after that. Any vegetable that vines would work. This includes: Pole snap beans Pole runner beans Half-Runner Beans (my White Half Runners climbed 8' high this year) Edible podded peas like Sugar Snap or Super Sugar Snap or Snow Peas (plant in cool season only cause heat kills them) Pole cucumbers (bush cukes don't climb) Malabar spinach (a warm weather spinach substitute; the red-stemmed version is gorgeous) Muskmelons and cantaloupes as well as some winter melons (you grow winter melons in summer, but they will store for a long time, hence the nickname winter melons) Winter Squash plants that produce smallish sized squash (some produce huge squash that might or might not tolerate having no ground underneath to support them as they hang on the fence) Mini Pumpkins like Jack-Be-Little or Baby Boo that are grown as ornamentals, not edibles Small Pumpkins like Sugar Pie or Seminole. I grow Seminole pumpkins every year and they climb my 8' tall garden fence and then climb up into the trees. Southern Peas, which includes blackeyed peas, pinkeye purple hull peas, lady, zipper, crowder and cream peas. Some are vining, some are bush and some are like half-runner beans--they stay bushy if there's nothing to climb, but if there is something to climb, they will climb. If you want something that will cover the fence quickly and that has flowers, annual vines like morning glories, moonvines (bloom at night), black-eyed susan vines, cypress vine and cardinal climber vine all grow fast and look great. In my garden, they all reseed vigorously and become weeds, so think long and hard before you plant them because once you have them, you'll likely have them forever. Dawn

There are quite a number of wonderful perennial vines that grow in NH. (I am assuming that the NH in your user name indicates location, but if not these may not be good suggestions.) Some of the non-invasive honeysuckles include Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), European honeysuckle (L. periclymenum) and a couple of hybrids, Goldflame and Mandarin. Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler' last week There's a wide range of clematis available in sizes ranging from just a few feet to 15 feet or more, and they come in shades of purple, pink, reddish, and white. Clematis Mikelite late June Clematis Gravetye Beauty early July Clematis Prince Charles early July Clematis Venosa Violacea early July Clematis HF Young early June Clematis Ville de Lyon mid June The native pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla) is mostly a foliage plant, with large heart-shaped leaves and pipe-shaped flowers tucked into the foliage. It provides food for one of the types of swallowtail butterflies. Another vine that can be grown for foliage is hops, Humulus lupulus, which is another really large plant. Besides the various green forms that provide the hops for brewing and their ornamental value, there is a gold-leafed form. There's a great photo of mature hops vines in this thread. Climbing Hydrangea will grow in part to full shade and has white flowers in June. It gets to 20' or more if untrimmed and needs a surface to climb such as a masonry wall or tree trunk so I don't think would work for your chain link. Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) isn't great for a small garden as it is a large, vigorous plant, but is good for a woodland edge where it produces fruit for birds and has crimson fall foliage. It can be grown successfully on chain link fencing also. If you are interested in edible fruit, in addition to grapes, hardy kiwi vines produce clusters of grape-sized smooth fruit that taste just like tropical kiwis, but without the fuzzy coat. Both Kiwi and grapes will produce best with proper training. There are also various annual vines such as scarlet runner beans, sweet peas, and black-eyed Susan vines (Thunbergia) that you can plant between the perennial vines for a season or two while you wait for the perennial vines to get some size. Unless you have a really narrow area, you might also want to consider shrubs planted close enough to the fence so that some of the branches grow through the fence to help hide it. Hydrangea paniculata such as Limelight, Quickfire, or Vanilla Strawberry might work for this if the area is at least 7' wide.

You are such a Negative Nelly! Every comment you make about any gardening situation is to first point out all the potentially negative aspects one might encounter. Will grow too big, not hardy enough, damaged by insects or diseases, etc., etc. Gardening must really be a huge, disappointing chore for you!! All gardening requires some effort on the part of the gardener. Why you think maintaining a vine on a dead tree is going to be so much more complicated or more of an effort than maintaining a vine growing on any other trellising or support system is a bit of a mystery. btw, since citrus is not inclined to grow well in much, if any, shade at all, it is not surprising it was suffering in proximity to the redwood. But a more shade adapted vine, if given other necessary care, might fair very well.