I started 2 crossvines from seed last spring. They are in the ground now They are supposed to be hardy at least to zone 6 so I will have to wait until spring to see if they have survived. So far they are doing ok. The leaves have turned a deep red.

Thunbergia wasn't hardy for me but sometimes they do reseed.

Coral honeysuckle may not be as exotic as what you want but it is hardy.

I also have a manettia Bi color (candy corn vine) which isn't hardy but I can over winter it inside.

Passiflora has at least one species that may be hardy for you. I have one right now that has been on my porch for a month that hasn't died even with temps down in the low 20's. I will probably bring it inside for the harsher part of the winter if I can find a place to put it. I have another passiflora that I have cut back and brought in.

Penny

I can vouch for the crossvine being hardy in zone 6. Have 2 growing on a trellis. Third year now & they have completely filled the trellis & bloom off and on all spring, summer & fall. Pretty much stay evergreen too.
Carol

I think both Passiflora incarnata and ceurulea would be hardy there. Incarnata is white and cuerulea is blue. But......there are hybrids of the two. 'Incense' is a deep purple (I have this and it's gorgeous). Now, not only are the passion vines gorgeous, but....get ready.....they are the host plant for the gulf fritillary butterfly. Yes, oh yes. This is an amazing plant. The gulf fritillary caterpillars are so fascinating because they are kind of an orangy-purplish color with black bristles that are very soft - I was scared to touch them at first, but they are so soft. SO you will have the BIG and beautiful orange gulf fritillaries all over your yard as well.

If you are in zone 7, or your location for your vine is a pretty protected area - this is a new one on me, and I planted it this summer, and am expecting wondrous scented flowers, is jasminum x stephanense. While most jasmines bloom white, it blooms PINK. Clusters of tubular pink flowers that are supposed to attract the hummers, butterflies, and the gorgoues sphinx moths!

Clematis - you can't go wrong with, but buy them in at least a 2-quart to 1-gallon container, and bury them 2" deeper than they are in the pot they come in. They will develop more roots along that 2" of stem. Fertlize them with tomatoe fertilizer. The most vigorous of the clematis vines that will give you lots of bloom the first year are the viticelli hybrids, like 'Polish Spirit' - smaller blooms, but lots of them, and purple. It can be trimmed back to 6" from the ground each spring and will grow tons of new stems and reward you with tons more flowers.

Beware - if you plant crossvine or trumpet vine - they are very prolific vines.

For annual beauty - lots and lots and lots of morning glories, hyacinth bean vine, cypress vine (white or red), sweet potato (lime green, purple, black, variegated), a new one my neighbor tried is aster carolinius, a vining aster - gorgeous (perennial).

For foliage interest, I like ampelopsis brevipedunculata - porcelain berry. I planted it in my partial shady garden - has variegated oak-leaf shaped leaves, and in fall, the berries are purple, blue and cream colored, like porcelain. Birds love them. I also have a hedera 'Goldilocks', which is a yellow/green variegated leaf. Not rampant like regular ivy. It really brightens a shady corner, too.

I also love my virginia creeper, too. Why? I have been getting sphinx moth caterpillars on them! Who cannot love these beautiful creatures? The caterpillars are like the winnie-the-poohs of the lepidoptera family. Big, fat, green or brown. When disturbed, they pull their little faces in so that they are flat. They have horns until the 2nd instar, and then lose theirs, unlike the tomato and tobacco hornworms. So cute. They are the lovely hummingbird moths we see at dusk and dawn, and are the ONLY source of pollination for our deep-throated flowers like the morning glory, datura, brugs, etc. If you want your trumpet flowers pollinated, don't kill them!

Oh, you're going to have lots of fun choosing.

Susan

Susan, I totally agree on the invasivness of the trumpet vine but my cross vine is extremely well behaved. Covers the trellis & doesn't go anywhere else. My passion vine on the other hand is invasive as heck. Sends up new shoots as far as 30 ft away. I'll probably exterminate it next year even tho the flowers are so exotic & plentiful. Just can't handle the recklessness!
Carol

How about a variegated kiwi vine, actinidia kolomikta? Beautiful pick & white on tips of the green foliage. I can vouch for the hardiness here in z6. Rated as z4-9. Worth a try!
Carol