What city are you nearest or in?

The requirement for FAST means the potential for invasive is there.

Evergreen eliminates a large group of vines that can't invade because they freeze back.

According to my handy-dandy "Landscape Plants for the Arizoan Desert" booklet, the evergreens are: (this seems to be a major requirement for you, being evergreen)

Bougainvilea
Lilac Vine - hardenbergia violacea
Primrose jasmine - Jasminum mesnyl
Cat Claw vine - macfadyena unguis-cati
Lady Banks rose

There's about that many semi-evergreen as well. You can usually find this booklet, produced by the Arizona Municipal Water Users Asso. at nurseries and libraries around town.

lazygardens-
im in brawley, ca (el centro area about half way between yuma and san diego). we pretty much have the same climate as central az but being below sea level we have slightly warmer winters and it cools off here at night during the summers due to no 'heat island' and major agriculture.

marymcp-
thanks for the suggestions. id rather not have any more bougainvillea. i have 9 already and would like to mix it up a bit. lady banks would be nice but id have to do major pruning to keep it small when it really wants to be BIG, but it is a possibility. cats claw is just too invasive for me. hardenbergia could be a good one, i thought it needed shade out here though. primrose jasmine could be a good one too. i'm not familiar with that vine but am looking into it.

anyone have experience with hardenbergia in full western sun? what about mexican flame vine or bower vine?

oh yeah, bower vine. Had one once but pulled it out to put something else in. It was a great vine. Plant it and forget it, though it needs water. Probably why it was not listed in my xeric booklet, quoted above. Mexican Flame vine can be frost tender. Lost a really nice one in one of our recent cold winters.

Second the bower vine. I have one on a west-facing wall and it really is an attractive plant.

Bower vines are nice! Your winters are warm enough that I'll bet a snail vine would stay green all winter.

Pyrocantha is something I'd consider. The main drawbacks are that it is thorny and it will require attentive pruning to keep it. But it is a gorgeous evergreen plant with dark green glossy leaves and bright red clusters of berries, very hardy and attracts many small birds for eating and nesting. You can get different color berries but why would anyone want to give up the red? You can also harvest the berries for jam and the cuttings are also beautiful for wreaths, garlands, etc. for the holidays.

Here is a link that might be useful: Monrovia pyrocantha description

pyracantha is one i'll defiantely be planting. if not in this spot then in another one. i have plenty of space to fill in this new yard.

seems like alot of bower vine fans here. does anyone have trouble with it becoming invasive? i have zero experience with vines so the horror stories are a little scary. i dont want to make the mistake of planting something that i cant later get rid of if i need to, or even worse, my neighbors cant get rid of either.

Mine isn't invasive at all. The plant needs supplemental water to thrive so I can't see it getting out of control that way. It twines and needs a trellis for support.

thanks for the suggestion grant. your crossvine is incredible! now i have to have one! lol. im torn as to which one i'd like in this new spot and which in a different location but it seems i will definitely have both the tangerine crossvine and some bower vines since neither will try to take over my yard