I am off to the local nurseries this morning. I am going to take a chance and get the Lemon BES. It might rain this afternoon, so decided that today is my "shopping" day. I hate shopping. So hard to make up my mind. Many times I come home with plants completely different than what I planned to buy! Steven...hopefully I will have better luck. I'm sure if you were to plant it again, it would grow great for you! Your yard is just beautiful now and you have amended your soil a great deal! (Especially the back yard) :-) Bloominganne....yes I had planned to plant 2 clematis on it this year. Had checked with the nursery last fall to see if they were going to get in more Kivistic clematis, as last year they lost their grower. Yup, they would be getting some in. So I waited....then I stopped last week on Monday and they had come in late Friday and SOLD OUT over the weekend. So now it is another year to wait as I have not had good luck with mail order clematis. Memo...thank you. Yes, DH is really a sweetie. He has a few project he wants to work on this summer. One is to hang the 1859 bronze bell (we purchased last year) in a corner bed in the front of the house. He is thinking about building a brick arch to hang it in. Hopefully it won't grow legs and walk off that way! party_music....the plants at the nursery are quite good sized and are blooming beautifully. So...fingers crossed. The picture above was taken on May 30, 2005 but not much has really changed. Just that the cedar has weathered gray on the obelisk. My peonies are all up with lots of buds. I expect them to be blooming in about 2 weeks. We have a very sandy soil that warms quickly in spring. I am finding that everything really gets an early start here. I usually start picking my strawberries on Memorial Day weekend. The lilacs are blooming now and I baked fresh rhubarb pie last week. Much different than the clay soil we had 160 miles north of where we live now. It is a joy to garden here.

Try Trachelospermum asiaticum, particularly the variegated version. Hardier than Confederate Jasmine. Has small white blooms but not noticable as they're quite tiny among the white/green variegated leaves, but the scent is heavenly. The white/green/pink colored leaves are beautiful yearround, dainty but thick and glossy, never bothered by pest or disease. Vine can be trained on trellis, pruned as necessary. Never noticed bees around them...I'm leery of bees too. josh

I get seeds from many of the Thunbergia alata varieties like Blushing Suzy, Spanish Eyes and African Sunset so I don't bother wintering them over but my Raspberry Sorbet has never produced seeds so I do what you did. I cut it back and keep it in a cool greenhouse. It's kept at about 45 and doesn't put on any growth to speak of but grows just fine when it warms up. I do have a problem with mealy bugs so keep an eye on it even if there's not much foliage over the winter.

Sending you a link which covers the possibilities for your area. With the conditions you describe, you need to look for a vine hardy in Zone 3 if you will be planting in a container. Zone information will be true, more or less, for plants which have roots in the ground protected by the earth. The general rule is to subtract 1.5 to 2 zones for container plants. Also, you are describing a particularly difficult site (elevated deck, wind exposure). Unfortunately, none of these vines would be evergreen in your situation. I would consider a screen of lattice or some other attractive material for privacy and enjoy annual or perennial vines from Spring until frost. Roses in the Canadian Explorer series like William Baffin would also give you a fairly dense coverage of branches even after the leaves have fallen. I also like Dropmore Scarlet Honeysuckle - nice flowers that rebloom for an extended period. If you decide to plant in the ground below the deck, Virginia Creeper should be able to sprint the 25' in 2 seasons if it gets a bit of sun and space. Here is a link that might be useful: Northern Vines