Well, i beg to differ- when cross vine is happy it's pretty thuggy about spreading all over, just as carolina jessamine and autumn clematis can be. I have all 3 (+ trumpet vine, too) popping up all over the place. But it is evergreen and in the winter the leaves turn reddish, so it's pretty. I'd get tangerine cross or a newer hybrid, because the native one likes to climb to the tops the trees before it blooms. It won't bloom unless it's tall tall. We are lucky- our lot slopes sharply, so we actually can see the blooms from our deck starting at about deck height and going to about 40' higher about 120' away. I think you're really smart to steer clear of trumpet vine. I struggle with it all over the place- it's an absolute nightmare. I do let it go up into our 1 giant mimosa (that was here when we bought- i wouldn't plant one and we can mow around this one), and the hummers and butterflies love the combo of the trumpet vine and mimosa flowers. If that mim goes, so will the vine- i don't have any other trees i'd let it take over. They are both flowering in the crown, about 40-45' high. I know, mims aren't normally that tall. This one is- it grew in among shade and big trees and i guess had to get tall to get light. It's trunks are also massive, so it's quite old and amazingly, it appears to be healthy. We cut every last other one off our prop as did our neighbors.

Susan, You know, I never once have cut off the seed pods and I've never had a trumpet creeper come up from seed. Maybe it is because my trumpet creepers are in the worst possible clay soil....so maybe it stays so wet during the rainy season that the seeds rot before they can sprout. (In this case, I guess that is a good thing.) The worst way to try to get rid of trumpet creeper is to cut it off at the ground, because they sprouts come up everywhere from the large, rampant root system.....up to 50' away from the mother plant. It is even worse with the native ones. So, if your neighbor is trying to get rid of it that way, those plants sprouting everywhere may be coming off the root system of his original plant or plants. Texas gardening guru (horticulturist, author, photographer, garden show producer, radio show host and all-around great guy) Neil Sperry once answered the question "How tall does trumpet creeper grow?" with an answer that still makes me laugh. His answer (paraphrased, but essentially contains the gist of what he said all those years ago): "It grows 6' feet higher than the nearest support." Isn't that the truth! Virginia creeper I have a absolutely everywhere. Acres and acres of it as an understory plant in the woods, where it likes to climb the trees too. I do have some on the north side of the house, and have had it in the veggie garden. After 9 years, though, I am finally about to get all of it out of the veggie garden.....I think. As you know, I love the sphinx moths too. Scott, All three of those plants are lovely. I like to grow cardinal climber on the fence around the garden. It does reseed and become a pest sometimes, so be sure you only plant it in a area where reseeding won't be a huge problem. Scarlet runner bean is gorgeous, but tends to play out in the heat a little. I prefer purple hyacinth bean vine. They bloom later than the scarlet runner beans but produce more blooms and foliage in the heat and absolutely stop traffic when in bloom. Of course, as much moisture as you have, the scarlet runner beans may last longer for you than they do for me. One thing....if you are growing scarlet runner bean for the flowers, you need to remove the seed pods after the blooms finish. Otherwise, they won't make additional blooms. Just to make you drool, I'll link a googled photo of purple hyacinth bean vines in bloom. Add moonflower vine (Ipomoea alba) to your morning glories, and you'll have their lovely, large, sweetly-scented flowers in the evening to early morning and the morning glory blooms in the early morning to mid-day. It is a perfect combination. Four o'clocks are one of my favorite plants. They have beautiful foliage, gorgeous flowers and a scent that perfumes the entire yard in the evening. They attract a lot of the night-flying moths, which should delight your kids. However, you need to be sure you want them where you plant them because they are almost impossible to move. Their roots get very large very quickly. After just a couple of years, the large fleshy potato-type root can be the size of a large yam. After a few years, the roots can be about the size of a child's head. Also, four o'clocks reseed prolifically. I used to pull up those seedlings. Then, one year I didn't get around to pulling them up and they grew. Hundreds of them. What did I learn from this? That the larger ones will shade out the smaller ones and most of those seedlings will die due to the competition for light and moisture. So, nowadays, I only pull up the ones that come up where they cannot be allowed to establish a toehold....like in the veggie garden. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Googled Photo of Lablab purpurea

Yes, I think purple hyacinth bean would be a good substitute (I'm assuming your fence has full sun)...as long as you don't mind cleaning it up when the first freeze gets it. Be sure you get the pods off when they are ripe or you may find you have many more volunteers than you want. I find that you have to start them from seed inside and let them get a couple of sets of leaves before you set them out. Being beans they need a 24 hour soak in water before planting. Keep them watered well when they are young...when established they take off about 15 feet across or so. They are a twining vine...need something to climb..like a thin trellis, wires, or chain link fence (where I grow mine). The flowers are fragrant and do attract bees, if that's a problem for you.

Campsis radican 'Flava' is the most widely available yellow flowered sort. Mention of the trumpet vine, or trumpet creeper usually brings a storm of comment, because it is so vigorous and invasive. I had a 'Madame Galen' on the chimney before we put an addition just there and had to cut the vine down. Its seedlings are on the property and so deeply rooted that I will always have them. 'Jersey Peach' grows on the pool deck fence and I am gathering and destroying every seed pod before they open. The sort you have is growing very slowly in considerable shade on an out-building I built and may, eventually get into more sun on the roof. Then it may finally bloom and make seed pods for me to chase. I ordered another 'M. Galen' for a rather wild spot and a 'Morning Calm, also growing too slowly in a shady place. Beautiful vines that bloom for a long time, are too vigorous and constantly drop spent flowers in a great mess. A great favorite of hummingbirds.