Plants against the house do three bad things: roots (invade mortar/structure), insects and MOISTURE! It looks beautiful but I just shake my head when I see ivy or any vine growing on the side of a home. It is bad news for your house. Just my two cents - lots of people still do it and pay the price.

Your Carolina jessamine (_Gelsemium sempervirens_) should do well in the environment you described. It is native to the Southeast and blooms more abundantly in full sun, than in shade, or partial shade. However, it does well in both situations. As a native plant, it should withstand a considerable amount of drought. It climbs but climbs gently and should not destroy your mortar or the exterior of your house. Go with what the nurseryman sold you. It's South Carolina's state flower and a horticultural treasure. Another gentle climber is Confederate jasmine (_Trachelosperum asiaticum_). It's a good evergreen vine producing pleasingly fragrant white, star-like flowers in late April or early May. Its name refers to the Confederated Malay States, not the mid-nineteenth century American Confederacy. It's also a gentle climber that behaves itself well on chimneys or other man-made structures. The cultivar 'Madison' is more cold-tolerant than the species.

I need to make a correction to the scientific name for Confederate jasmine, which I incorrectly typed in the message above. The name should be _Trachylospermum jasminoides_.

Another fine evergreen vine that's beautiful as well as talented at climbing masonry is fig vine, or creeping fig--_Ficus pumila_.

Have you considered a Sweet Potato Vine?
If in full sun I suggest the deep purple variety, with a dark purple bloom and if more shaded, the green variety, it is a lovely chartreuce with pale purple blooms.

I also agree with Love the yard, alot of damage can be done to the mortar with vines.

good luck!