By Angelwings
United Kingdom 
Hi I need a all year round fence climber that will give me privacy in a shady alleyway between myself and neighbour but not too bushy as we have to use it to access the garden (our kitchen windows face each other). I have honeysucle but its shabby and doesnt grow at all , ivy is not good as we were overrun by it on another fence , virginia creeper would be ideal but the berries are poisonous to my dog , so any ideas please , thank you
Sharon
19 Feb, 2014
Answers
What sort of fence is it? Could you add to the height with bamboo/willow cane screening?
19 Feb, 2014
there are several evergreen clematis and you can get them flowering now C cirrhosa for example. There are spring, summer and autumn ones so you have flowers all year round.
Evergreen honeysuckles are also a possibility.
19 Feb, 2014
How tall is the fence? Pileostegia viburnoides takes shade and is evergreen. It is self-clinging provided it is fed well every year. Eventually reaches twenty feet, but I cut mine back to six feet every year. Flowers in late summer
19 Feb, 2014
Hydrangea anomala springs to mind - you can keep that trimmed back to the fence. Doesn't have leaves in winter though, but then, nor does virginia creeper.
19 Feb, 2014