Morning glories aren't evergreen in your climate. If you put in both ivy and morning glories, even a perennial morning glory like Ipomoea indica, the ivy will win out over time because the ivy will stay green all winter, while the morning glories will have to start over each spring from seeds, or if a perennial species, from its roots. Also, morning glories don't do well in full or nearly full shade.

Hi, welcome to GardenWeb.

I am concerned about starting it and never being able to get rid of it. A valid concern! Ivy would ruin the fence, go up the trees, over the building to the left, and attempt to take over the whole area of grass as well.

Will Morning glory grow in shade? Some shade, but they need at least 5 hours of direct sun to flower well. Easy & cheap enough to buy some seeds & find out.

Are the morning glories started from seed as invasive as the bindweed vine that people talk about. Absolutely not, especially in your zone. Bindweed is a perennial that grows back from the roots every year and morning glories drop a lot of seeds (that are easy to pull out) but the roots will be killed by the cold.

There are many more well-behaved vines, like Clematis, that grow more slowly but don't end up causing a lot of problems later. You should look for the kind that dies above ground every year because woody perennial vines and chain-link fences are not a good mix. Too much shade will severely limit your selections of vines.

You might consider other tallish shade plants that aren't vines.

Before planting anything, I would establish a border around it so it doesn't get mowed or stepped on too much, and so you don't have to try to figure out how to keep the grass neat at the bottom without harming whatever you plant there.

Thanks for the feed back! @Purpleinopp thank you so much for clearing up the whole morning glory thing up for me! That makes sense, finally. I was confused about prorogation for the store bought morning glories. I think I am going to take my chances with the ivy. I want something that is an evergreen. I dug up a friends that is growing on a fence, and as been for years. The fence still seams structurally sound. I am planning on trying my best to keep it pruned. It is pretty far from my flower beds. I do need a border because I can't seem to keep my toddler off of it. I think the spot has too much shade for morning glories. My yard in general has a lot of shade, which is nice for playing in but not so much for planting : )

Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

Grow food! Melons, cukes, tomatoes...!!

Cool, another "purple" person. And of course they have a beautiful suggestion. I would usually say the same thing and don't know why my mind didn't go there when I first posted on this days ago. Kudos, Dr.! I don't know how cukes or melons would do in that much shade, but I know there are toms that would do well. In Italy they grow them under the cloths and I've always had better luck with them in mid-day shade, even in OH.

Your little one would really enjoy it, too. They all do. I found it's better until they are older to only take things inside and wash them before eating. Picking a cherry tomato and popping it in your mouth can send the wrong message about eating things in the yard - to a toddler. You know your kid, but it's food for thought.