hydrangea petiolaris is a nice one and the bare stems in the winter have a reddy tinge to them.

Personally I would go for the Hydrangea petiolaris, the russian vine can very quickly get out of hand and look a mess, the Hydrangea is slower growing but can have a spread of 100ft or more, Derek.

Some Clematis dont mind a North facing wall. Also maybe give Winter Jasmine a try as the yellow flowers in the greyer months are a little ray of sunshine!!

If it is a wooden shed will the hydrangea be able to use its suction pads to grow on it Sbg or Derekm. It will need to be supported for the first year or so to encourage it to grow up.

I don't think your shed is really big enough for the hydrangea. I'd go for the clematis.

To add extra interest - How about a rose?

The added extra of being thornless makes 'Zephirine-Drouhin', a winner.. :)

A further thought, if the shed is in a damp north facing garden is it a good idea to grow anything on it. Would it not be better to erect a couple of posts, one at either end of the shed and staple plastic coated trellis which you can buy in 1m or .5m widths to it. then you can grow your chosen plant on it. I have 3 climbing hydrangeas and they are easily pruned to fit the space available. A pyracantha which is evergreen and has flowers in spring and orange, yellow or red berries over the winter would screen the shed all year. It would need the kind of support I have suggested either freestanding or on battens on the shed wall. Again it is able to be pruned to fit the space.

Scotsgran, it grows on my wooden fence, so I wouldn't think it would have a problem growing on a shed, but as you say, it would have to be pointed in the right direction for a while, but there again so would any other climber, Derek.

virginia creeper

Thanks Derek I wondered about it growing on wood but you have solved the problem. It should not harm the wood because it does not send roots in to any space it passes by like ivy.

yes, to add to all the comments, I also have hydrangea petiolaris growing on a wooden shed, it clings really well and as it is a vigorous plant it takes off in no time to cover ugly structures.However,it's not an evergreen plant. My garden is North facing and these plants seem to like shade.

Freeasabird thats good to hear. It does have nice stems in winter. I kept cutting mine back, they are all on walls and so there are a lot of branches which nearly cover the wall all winter. The leaves in spring are a delight too. I don't bother to cut the spent flowers back till the new leaves come out and they look lovely when covered in frost.

thats true Scotsgran, I leave the flowers on too. Although it drops all it's leaves in Autumn the thick-ish branches provide some cover , and walls and sheds look better for it.I like as much cover on walls as possible,it softens brickwork.

It also provides nesting or perching opportunities to the birds. I think the winter cover does provide some insulation to the wall too.

For hydrangea you need not to make a big Shed. Small one is enough for it.
http://www.frankssheds.com