In Denver I have a narrow (maybe 8 - 10 feet wide) piece of land between the north face of my house and a privacy fence north of that. Some dope planted a full size crab apple tree there so it's fairly shaded all day in the Summer. In the morning, once the sun has moved far enough north in the Spring, there is some sun and in the later part of the day, too, once the sun has passed over the tree. So you can imagine it's pretty dim and dappled. I have been successful growing akebia and honeysuckle on the south side of the privacy fence. I have just found that a Dutchman's Pipe and two climbing hydrangea have survived against the fence under the spread of the tree as well. Some climbing euonymus has also managed to live in these conditions. I have made that soil very rich and forest like and water when it's dry; it's rich enough to host a lot of East Coast ferns. There is some English Ivy that mopes along on the house itself, which is rarely watered, and I don't let it grow on the brick because it can damage the mortar. But if your house is open to the north (no shading trees), I don't see why English ivy, Boston Ivy or the climbing hydrangea or eunomyus wouldn't do very well there. If there is sufficient brightness (and even without direct sun Colorado has brighter air because of our altitude), photosynthesis can occur. You might find that a lot of part-shade vines like clematis grow there because there is sufficient light, if not direct sun. You will just have to experiment. That's how we figure our places out. Trial and error. Good luck.