Ivy would work. Periwinkle is evergreen as well, but wouldn't really climb like ivy. Maybe someone else knows of something evergreen that would work. You also could put something decorative in that spot to hide the air conditioner. The air conditioner will probably throw off a lot of heat in the summer.

My brother lived out in Prineville (at least that is what his mailing address was) till last year! I don't think that is far from Bend.

Hopefully the original poster knows that Ivy is highly invasive in Oregon, in fact I don't even think you can buy it there anymore (as of January 2002).

It is hard to describe your shade level from a single picture. The sun moves during the day and you really have to do a 12-16 hour analysis to determine the "hours" of sunlight that each section receives. Six hours is considered full sun for good bloom set. 3-6 hours would be partial shade and less than 3 is probably full shade. You do have to take into consideration the time of day as 6 hours of afternoon sun, for example, is much more stressful than 6 hours in the morning.

On a sunny day that someone is home, have them check the area each hour (on the hour might help them remember). Make a note of each spot that is in the sun. Some people say to stick a plastic knife in the ground if the area is sunny. At the end of the day, count up how many hours (or plastic knives) in each area. That is your hours of sun.

Rather than use plants to cover the area, how about painted lattice?

Yes, I wouldn't plant ivy that close to the house. It will climb and I've heard stories of it working its way under the siding and actually *into* the house.

I also agee that lattice would be nice there. There doesn't seem to be enough room between the patio and ac unit to put anything without cramping the ac, which could lead to repairs.

Beth. Clematis and honeysuckels would both be great but make sure they go down to at least minus 30 degrees. While you may not get that consistently you can easily have issues with wind chill. It doesn't look like you have large trees for any protection in winter. Wind chill causes some havic in our climate. Hops grow great but if you will be interacting around them they aren't good for skin contact. I don't have very good luck with annual vines because the nights get cool.