Question
QUESTION: I live right next to a highway. I love to relax on my front porch and I am not a fan of watching cars zoom down the highway or drivers being able to see me. I love plants so I figured I could plant a few vines to give me something that more pleasurable to look at. I want a colorful vine that does not attract bees. I need it to be able to grow about 11 feet and that likes  Sun light or partial shade. I live in eastern Tennessee not sure if that matters but thought I would mention it. I have a three year old so anything with thorns would not be a good idea. I would love one that came back every year but not mandatory. I hope you can help me. Thanks in advance for your time.
Sincerely,
Blandy

ANSWER: Good morning, Blandy -
I hope I can help steer you toward some good possibilities for screening the highway (and you!) while giving you something pretty to look at.  I am going to make a few assumptions here, based on your post, and they may need some tweaking if they are off the mark.  First, I am assuming that the site is in full sun, which is appropriate for flowering vines.  Second, I am assuming that you already have some sort of fence or trellis in place. The ideal support for most flowering vines is a trellis that has thin "bars" that many vines use to curl their tendrils around as they ascend up the fence. Okay, now let's talk vines. The bad news is that most flowering vines are not evergreen, so in your USDA Climate Zone (7a), you'll be looking at brown branches/dead leaves for about 4-5 months of the year.  On the other hand, you probably won't be sitting outside during those winter months, and if you do, you'll still be screened by last year's growth. Now, as for selecting vines, here are some possibilities:
If you have some shade, you can opt for a Climbing Hydrangea.  If you have lots of sun, consider these:
Autumn Clematis (or any clematis - these come in a wide range of colors and bloom times); Japanese Honeysuckle; Wisteria; Trumpet Vine; Moonflower; Carolina Jessamine (which is evergreen but takes some time to get established, has lovely yellow flowers in spring); and one of my favorites - Passionflower.  I recommend researching each one of these types of vines on the Internet and look at photos in Google Images to see which ones you like best.  Each type of vine has different pruning and fertilizing requirements, but most are fairly carefree! Clematis are the fussiest - they like "wet feet and dry hair," meaning they like cool moist soiol at their roots but tons of dry heat at their tops, in order to flower well. None of the vines I've recommended here has thorns, and all are perennial (meaning they come back year after year).
Blandy, good luck and keep me posted! (Ha, no pun intended...)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: All your assumptions were dead on and thank you for the suggestions. I fell in love with the trumpet, passion flower and honeysuckle. Also found that Jasmine rather lovely. Now one thing I am having trouble finding is if any of these attract bees which is a major concern. Toddler and all.  And once I pick one and get it going I will be sure and send you a photo.

ANSWER: Unfortunately, these flowering vines (like most flowers) are very appealing to bees.  I don't blame you for wanting to be mindful of this with a toddler at home; bee stings are nasty and can even kill people who are allergic. That said, honey bees (the ones you'll find around flowers) don't attack people unless they feel threatened. (Wasps and other non-pollinators, of course, are more aggressive). But children - and most adults - swat at bees out of instinct, so it is unlikely that you can reason with your toddler about how important honey bees are to our ecosytem.
So, what to do?
There are commercially-available products -- many of which are organic -- that you can spray on your vines to repel bees.  I would consult a local garden center.  Tea Tree Oil is one such product that might help.
In addition, for people, there is a very good organic bug spray (i.e., safe for little ones' skin and non-toxic) called Bubble and Bee.  I think it's available online.  That might do the trick, too.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Amazingly my little boy has no fear of bees, yet. I figure he will be eventually though and it was not a chance I wanted to take.
I was trying to do some research, and it was saying some vines can be destructive. Will any of the vines you listed before end up hurting the structure of my porch?
Sorry for all the silly questions, I just want to be completely sure before I choose a vine.

Answer
Your questions are not silly!
Some vines, in fact, can be quite invasive. I was under the impression you were going to drow the vines up a fence/trellis some distance from your house.  If you are growing them up a lattice or trellis on your porch, then I would stay away from Wisteria, as it will swallow your house and the roots can actually penetrate basement walls.  (That happened to me at my old house, where we inherited the problem!)
Clematis, Carolina Jessamine, and Passionflower are all good choices.  Trumpet Vine is more invasive.  Jasmine is lovely (and so aromatic), but it may be difficult to get this to weather the winter in your zone (which I am in, too, by the way, here in suburban D.C.) -
I do hope I've been helpful.
Happy spring and have a great weekend in the garden!