Maybe it's a Carolina thing - or maybe just MY yard! - but I tried them two years ago w/bad results. They took off and grew vigorously ..... a little too vigorously as they topped the trellis and proceeded to grow into a huge, heavy knot at the top (practically overnight!). Guess I should have been pruning them, but I'd never read of that. Anyway, then I discovered they were a major Japanese Beetle magnet - worst beetle year I've ever had and they were the obvious attraction! Once the beetles finished making lace out of the leaves, the MGs contracted some sort of rust-like disease/fungus and ugly doesn't begin to describe it. By mid-summer I'd had it and tore them all down leaving bare trellises for the rest of the growing year. They were lush, blooming and gorgeous for about a week - not enuf payback for me. Gonna stick w/clematis for my little chunk of dirt. I do love them, and am very sad I can't grow them here so thanks for the beautiful pics above! BTW, I interplanted moonflowers w/the MGs and the moonflowers never made an apppearance. Don't know what that was all about.

It does sound like a great project. I love por*ches! You're right to try to add some fragrance. I'm not sure you are going to find a vine that will give you blooms and fragrance in only dappled sun all day. I am constantly trying to add fragrance and I've haven't had much luck in shady areas. I tried a small cutting of SAC and it took three years in my sunnier than yours location to get five feet high then the very next year, I looked over one day and noticed not one leaf on it. I found some kind of caterpillar on it that stripped it of every leaf and it never came back. So I can't attest to it's aggressiveness. [g] While you are looking for a fragrant vine, you might consider pots of Four OClocks on your porch. They open at night and have a nice fragrance that is stronger on hot evenings. They might do fine in your shady conditions. I've had them bloom in shady spots. I also tried C*lematis m. 'Mayleen' from Bluestone last fall and it hasn't come back. No, I haven't had experience with Castle Wall or Spire. I like the darker green so I have two 'Green Mountain' that I really enjoy. It is supposed to get to about 5ft tall and might be easily shaped into a pyramid. You would have to trim them occasionally anyway, so it's not like it would be more work. GM came through the winter great last year. I've only had them two years. Bought them small at Bluestone and I like them. I would ask about the r*oses over on the rose forum and you will need to actually time the amount of sun to determine whether you have enough for a rose. Sometimes we can all kid ourselves that we have enough sun because we want a particular plant so much. :-) I am experimenting with two r*oses in an area that only gets about 4 hours of sun. I was cautioned on the r*ose forum that I may not get good bloom there. So I found two r*oses that are described as tolerating some shade and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. But I think 4 hours of sun is a minimum for a r*ose. But I'm no expert. Even if a r*ose blooms in less sun, it might not be the amount of bloom you are hoping for. Fragrant hostas are a great idea. I had 'Guacamole' for 4 years and it didn't come back this spring, which really surprised me. I'm still looking for it through May because I seem to remember it was late to come up, although all my other hostas are up. It is very fragrant and has nice large blooms. I'm sure there are lots of others. My Clethra lost most of it's top growth this winter. It is a great shrub so I hope I haven't lost it entirely. There is a post about that somewhere, others have had trouble with Clethras last winter. Endless Summer might be the Hydrangea you are trying to figure out. I would go with that one because it blooms on old and new wood. I also know people who grow Nikko and swear by it's hardiness.

I think the point is that there is no cost difference between the two options if you are not solving the underlying problem, because the job may eventually need to be removed and redone. It is not eco-friendly nor cost effective to do any job twice. With old houses, there is both a romantic and a practical reason for checking what's underneath - the practical is for seeking out the real cause of a problem. You don't sound like an adherent to the romantic aspect of old houses, which is fine, although you're in a bit a nest here of people who are. Living the romantic dream, however, has brought with it much practical wisdom. While the urge to uncover the old siding is partly romantic, it may also have a practical element - how the new siding is installed and what is underneath it may tell you why your paint is peeling. If it is peeling all over including on the addition, it may have been poorly installed or the surface poorly prepared before painting. I personally wouldn't like moisture festering inside the walls under either new paint or under fiber cement. And there is something about siding over siding that just gives me the creeps anyway. Maybe it's about bugs and spiders - just too many little spaces for bugs, wasp nests, etc. Although I've heard it keeps a house warmer and less drafty. If relative cost is all you need to know, there's nothing like estimates from contractors, as there are so many costs specific to a job. The only thing an internet forum can maybe tell you is that people do attach value to original condition, in the event that you are looking toward resale. An 1890s house that looks like the '70s inside and out will not appeal to those willing to pay a premium for history, and will raise doubts in the mind of buyers about what is underneath and how the structural integrity has been maintained. But it's not like there is a shortage of buyers looking for modern-looking homes. KarinL

A truly north-facing wall gives the equivalent of medium shade to the area at its base as long as there is nothing else overhanging the area. If you add potted plants to your porch they should be along the outer edges to get the most light. In general, one starts by deciding where shrubs should go, and the shape/size of shrubs wanted. Your house is nicely framed by trees now. The width of a planting bed depends on the need to access plants in the back. If you plant low, spreading shrubs you generally don't need to reach the back of the bed. The depth of the bed will be based on the expected, mature size of the shrubs. If a shrub has an expected mature width of 5 ft you should plant it 2 & 1/2 ft from a structure. I recommend two shrubs against the house on either side of the porch. Put perennials between and in front of the shrubs. Carry these beds around the corners to the side of the house. The area in front of the porch could have perennials or shrubs that don't get over 3 ft tall and wide. You should be able to lay your sidewalk in front of this bed.While standard Nandina domestica (heavenly bamboo) is a 6-8 ft plant there are many shorter CULTIVARS to 4 ft tall. Nandina grows in zones 6 to 9 and in full shade to full sun. It is semi-evergreen and its leaves turn reddish with fall and winter cold. Your local nursery personnel are full of information on other shrubs that will take shade; be sure to specify how high you want shrubs to grow. Temporarily fill in between young shrubs with easy care perennials such as day lilies which will take medium shade quite well. Dicentra ssp. (bleeding heart) is hardy in zones 4 to 9 but they don't like wet ground. Brunnera macrophylla (Siberian bugloss) has sky blue flowers hardy in zones 3 to 8. Of course, hostas are always good for shady spots. Once again, your local nursery is the best source of information for your area. Set perennials in groups of 3, mixing perennials for color and bloom times so something is always of interest. Finally, fill in between the perennials with annuals, especially toward the front of the bed. Does your driveway go around your house? Looking at your first photo, the drive on the right seems to curve into your back yard, but you say you will be adding a walkway that curves to the drive on the left. Perhaps the drive on the right was temporary, but don't be too quick to plant it over with lawn. If you have gatherings, whether family or friends, extra off-street parking can be safer for them. Set up a few spaces off the driveway. If parking is rarely needed it is usually safe to park directly on a lawn, but if extra parking is needed more than twice a year, hollow paver blocks can prevent soil compaction. Hedging can define the limit of temporary parking. Below is a photo that I think illustrates this perfectly.