Shady problem area help/advice?

I have an area that is a real problem for me.

It's on the west side of my house, very shady, some dappled afternoon sun in the shade from two crabapple trees. I have heavy clay, and the area gets a few nubs of grass, a few small sheets of moss, but neither will fill in. Ferns and hostas do well. My neighbor has just put in a fence which I'd like to camoflage.

Can someone suggest a vine that is not too invasive? It's okay if it doesn't flower, though something that would attract hummingbirds would be welcome. Variegated would be nice if it doesn't flower. I considered porcelainberry until I checked out the comments here and discovered that it's a real pest. I have a campsis radicans and a lonicera 'dropmore scarlet' on a sunny section of the fence to one side of this shady area, and a clematis on the other side of the shady area on another sunny section, and I suppose they will grow toward one another and fill in if nothing else. But I thought it might be nice to have something that would thrive in the shade in that section.

If there aren't any good vines for this area -- and I've been doing a lot of research and can't seem to find anything that isn't a pest -- then I'll just let the clematis and trumpets fill in and plant some tallish hostas and ferns. But if I can find something a little more interesting, that would sure be nice.

Any suggestions appreciated!

Val

I see there are two of the same thread going.
I will post my response in the other thread.
S

This message was edited Jul 15, 2005 8:19 AM