don't do ivy! please! there are so many great vines you can do, especially if you have mixed conditions. i don't send plants in the mail anymore, but some nice native selections would be sweet autumn clematis (sun or shade, semi evergreen), cross vine-bignonia (sun/shade semievergreen), carolina gessamine (sun for best bloom, evergreen) trumpet vine (sun, decid.), smilax (sun or shade & evergreen), clematis viorna (sun, decid.), coral honeysuckle (sun, decid.), and dutchman's pipe-aristolochia (shade or sun, decid.). some non natives would be climbing hydrangea, silver lace vine, climbing fern-lygopodium, and climbing roses. and if you wanted to venture into possible edibles you could try passion flower, aka maypops, artic kiwi, which has very nicely variegated foliage, magnolia vine-schizandra, wineberries, which will fruit in the shade, and grapevines. all of those last 2 groups are deciduous. there are evergreens other than ivy that you could use for screening, with the more interesting things interspersed. i can't think of any more off the top, but am sure someone else will speak up. there are lots of annuals that could fill in faster for you while you waited for your perennials . just don't do ivy, which is an invasive nuisance, or japanese honesuckle, which is just as bad, though it does smell divine. some of the others can be pretty invasive, too, so be careful to maintain it. any vine that grows fast or sets lots of seed has that potential. talk to a local nursery or ck a book out to find more possibilities. you essentially have a great vertical gardening opportunity- have fun with it!

forgot to say that the deciduous ones will not have green yr round you want, but many of them will provide winter screening and interest through the patterns of the vines. it'll get more dense each yr. most grow out again from the vines not the ground, so no need to clean off the fence each yr. oh, and another please don't consider is japanese wisteria. takes over the world. there is a native variety that doesn't smell as good and doesn't take over the world, but is a rebloomer- 'amethyst falls'. tammy

Seconding what Tammy said, no Ivy. It's very aggressive and will grow accross the ground, not just up. Coral honeysuckle grows naturally in my woods. It grows faster and fuller in sun but does grow and flower in fairly heavy shade. Deciduous vines like clematis can be grown together with evergreens for added interest, but make sure you get varieties that don't require pruning. Schizophragma (climbing hydrangea) may not be evergreen, but has neat stems that are nice in winter. It takes a few years to "leap" but grows big when it finally does. -Ais.