There are so few low growing vines here in the Bay Area....believe me I've looked. I ended up hedging flowering shrubs and using a trellis to train roses.

Thunbergia is a vine but it's bushy. Clematis...does it grow here? You could trellis needlepoint ivy if it were planted in a big pot so the roots couldn't escape into the yard.

Clematis is great, and I am going big with Clematis in other plantings in the garden. But it dies back in Winter. The Group 3 Clematis you have to cut to the ground. The Group 1 and Group 2 Clematis end up being a framework of ugly dead wood. So the corner of my house would go from plain to looking like a scary haunted house in the Winter.

Thunbergia dies back in Winter.

Ivy attaches to the stucco sidewall of the home and would result in permanent damage.

There are evergreen clematis..........

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) I know about Clematis cirrhosa, which is even a Winter bloomer, but I read it looks listless during the Summer. Maybe I could combine that with another vine that blooms in Summer.

Why not grow a beautiful rose like Duchesse de Brabant which can easily be grown as a climber up a house wall, although it's not a climber per se. I did that and, since it's not one of the massive tea roses, it was easily trainable and it should stay green in the winter and should bloom eight or nine months of the year. You can look on HelpMeFindRoses and see pictures and find out about it.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) I just read about Clematis x cartmanii which apparently has many varieties and is from New Zealand. That will go on my search list!

I also have some Clematis cirrhosa freckles on order and look forward to getting experience with it. I managed to find a Clematis cirrhosa Landowne Gem which looks striking.

@ingrid_vc zone 10 San Diego County I explored using a rose in this location and was cautioned that I do not have enough space between the side of the home and the walkway. Thr price for not keeping it trimmed would be snagging everyone who walks by.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) The references I find online suggest that Clematis x cartmanii Joe grows to about 2 meters. I found a Youtube video that claims a huge Clematis covering a pergola is "Joe". Do you think he identified that incorrectly and it is likely some kind of Clematis Montana? Or maybe it is a different variety of Cartmanii?

LOL!! I wouldn't call that "huge" but also not sure that is 'Joe'. Joe is not a common offering and tends to be on the smaller side compared to similar cartmanii hybrids. can't see the foliage clearly enough to confirm a cartman type but possibly Avalanche ('Blavaal'). This grows 12-15' or so......about double the size of Joe.

This is a huge clematis........

I'm out of my knowledge zone on a vine that meets your requirement being here in temperate Pittsburgh, PA, zone 6b, but are either Stephanotis or Hoya an option?

I'm out of my knowledge zone on a vine that meets your requirement being here in temperate Pittsburgh, PA, zone 6b, but are either Stephanotis or Hoya an option?

Moses

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) I guess on the way to "huge" a Montana would need to pass through "large". I will research Clematis x cartmanii Blavaal further.

@Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA Stephanotis dies below 55F, and here in zone 9b we get down to just above freezing.

Westes, you don’t live very far from Annie’s Annuals and Perennials in Richmond. She carries a lovely assortment of vines that might work for you. If you go to her website and do a search, you might find one that meets your specs. Under type, choose vine. Under category, choose evergreen and then go to zone and click 9b and then hit the find button. I have long wished to grow some of those but I’m in the wrong zone! There are quite a few that work for you in the Bay Area.

@judijunebugarizonazn8 I saw your "gardening inspiration" collection in your profile, and we have very similar taste for landscape. Most of those landscapes look like classic California gardens.

Yes, I do love the California garden style. No surprise, I suppose, since I lived there for twenty years. I still love California and tell my husband that I would love to move back some day. Only I really don’t enjoy moving and starting all over again, so maybe we won’t.

Take a look at Pandorea jasminoides - the Bower vine. It fits your criteria.

@hugogurll Bower Vine is looking pretty dense here: