Depends on the vine and how well it has been trained and pruned. In your situation you will have to train it quite severely.

Where do you live? Largest city nearby.

Are you an experienced gardener? Probably not a project for you otherwise.

Philadelphia. I think with enough reading and educating myself I can do it. The worst that can happen is that I remove it.

I'm trying to get a sense of whether vines that aren't evergreen are unsightly through the winter. It's such a prominent spot.

Dana, I looked at your older posts & see the front view of your pretty home. It appears to be a style where the garage doors don’t face the street but are on the side - a style not possible on many homes because of much smaller lots. My point is I couldn’t answer my question about what your garage looks like - style, siding type, ground available around it etc. So, I have no specific advice or thoughts about whether a vine growing up the side & over the top of garage doors would work for your home. Your stated lack of gardening expertise is a non issue - we all learn new things everyday by seeking advice! Generally speaking, a vine that flowers is going to be deciduous & whether they look messy in winter depends. Don’t you have snowy winters in Philly? The major question is support for vine - what is it? Your home looks brick faced on front & per your other posts, is vinyl clad on sides. I cannot think of any vine I’d want attatching itself to either of those materials. For a vine to grown up side & over the top of garage, a free standing arbor would be the answer & depending on the width of driveway, that might be a very large structure. A compromise is a smaller vine growing on a free standing trellis - maybe one on each side of garage - that grows only on sides. Most deciduous flowering vines would be pruned in early spring which would help control size. I’m thinking a non-evergreen clematis.

"Most deciduous flowering vines would be pruned in early spring". That's rather a sweeping statement. For many vines early spring pruning would lose all your flowers.

KW PNW Z8 - Thank you for such a thorough answer. I will post pictures of the garage. You are correct. That side of the house is white vinyl siding. It's very visible coming down the street and has no visual interest in my opinion. I am considering an arbor over the garage (like below) but don't want to commit to that without trying a vine first. My biggest concern is whether it's an eyesore if it's not green and/or flowering, especially without an arbor. There is ground on either side of the garage. One side has pachysandra so it seems like a good spot to plant a clematis of some sort since the roots would be shaded. This clematis (Clematis armandii ‘Apple Blossom) is described as evergreen. Is that an option?

Dana - hmm - are deciduous plants eyesores when dormant? I don’t personally think so as many have architectural beauty in their structures viewed when not in leaf. Vines maybe not so much. But, the support structure you showed is attractive on its own. With a deciduous vine clinging on it still would provide visual interest. Reason I mentioned deciduous over evergreen is that I think they tend to be smaller & easier to control. There’s a clematis forum here - it’d be good learning for you to search that forum & read the discussions to become familiar with the many, many varieties & especially which work in your area. @floraluk2 made a very good point about my ”sweeping statement” about early spring pruning & loss of flowers. I had my clematis in mind & so was speaking in generalities. Another thing to do while considering whether or not to plant a vine is to walk & drive around looking for local examples & also search on line for images. I’m considering a major landscape project & I’ve done both things to research & gather ideas.

Without support such as that arbor you cannot have a vine over the doors. Few are self clinging and they'd mess up your siding anyway. So you can't really 'try' a vine without providing some kind of support.

C. armandii is indeed evergreen but might not survive your winters. It's also spring blooming so a good example of why you wouldn't prune early. C. montana is tougher, also a spring bloomer, but not evergreen. Your best bet might be roses.

Floraluk2 - I plan on using a structure so self clinging isn't what I'm considering. I have metal vinyl clips that hang off of the siding without puncturing the vinyl and thought I could try trellis wire from clip to clip. I'm thinking that with enough clips it would distribute the weight. I realize a woody vine might be too heavy but thought maybe clematis would be light enough.

Similar to this wire, maybe?

That is a pretty small specimen of C armandii. They can get very large and those wires would prove inadequate in a couple of years. And it wouldn't be neat. Over a garage door it would really need something sturdier to stay under control.

Not sure why you want a vine. What problem are you trying to solve? You state that you're a non-gardener. The vine represents a life-long chore of pruning, tying in etc, much of it requiring you to be on a ladder. Is there another way to fix what you don't like? A trellis on the side of the house? A different paint color?

callirhoe - I want a vine as a way to add charm and break up two stories of white vinyl with some visual interest. The question is, which one? I realize a vine will take lifelong maintenance and a ladder but isn't that the case for many chores related to owning a home?

floraluk2 - That specimen was a 'before' pic so the wire could show. This is a second picture with the clematis much larger.

Plant a tree to screen the wall instead. Much easier.

Exactly! Note that that C armandii is already on its way into the gutters and onto the roof and will need attention soon. I love vines. My own garden is practically buried in them in summer. The whole of the back of my house (4 storeys) has a vine on it. We have to prune it several times every summer. I just got the impression the practicalities were not quite clear to you. Winter appearance is the least of the issues.

mad_gallica - Not possible. It's all driveway on that side of the house.

floraluk2 - I love vines too. Thank you for putting it into perspective like that - 'winter appearance is the least of the issues'. I suppose I like them enough that I'm willing to do the work. As long as it's not completely ugly in the winter!

The tree goes in front of the driveway.

If you have snow in the winter, plant a vine that has large leaves and flowers. When it snows the vine will look beautiful with the snow on its leaves and dead flowers.

I can't think of any large leaved, evergreen, dead blossom retaining, flowering vine which would survive a z7 winter. Climbing hydrangea retains its flowers but is deciduous. Clematis armandii retains its leaves but not its flowers. And I'm not convinced it's hardy enough anyway.

Correct me if I'm wrong.