On another thread, Laag is talking about choosing form ahead of function, and that seems to me to be what you are doing. Your function is to have something that is an effective barrier and screams DO NOT STEP HERE, yet the forms you are expressing interest in is something minimal, unobtrusive, blending in. Above, all, something easy. If I were trying to get people to stop stepping in my plants, I would choose an unequivocal barrier, one that can't be missed by someone who is far more interested in their conversation and wine than in where they are standing. Perhaps you do need it to be removable for working in the spaces. If you want to make it a lot of work you could install actual 4x4 fence posts at each end of the space and lay rails - even just light dowels - across on the inside nearest the plants, on hooks - even just cup hooks - or something so they could be removed for non-party times. Maybe with nice finials on top of the posts, so they are decorative even when the rails are off. If you want to make it quick and easy, get those short lengths of plastic(?) WHITE "picket" fencing that you stick in the ground. One thing I see in the ideas you're playing with is a potential for eye-pokers, that is, thin sticks that are maybe three feet high and stand-alone, something that, if someone drops their purse and bends down to pick it up, will be totally invisible to them and will poke them in the eye. Just a thought. KarinL

Zucchini should be direct-seeded, it's the same as summer (yellow) squash. And it should sell in the city since it tkes room to grow (but you're only likely to fit 2-3 plants in a 4x8 bed). Are you sure the edible flowers will sell well? Not too many people I know would buy flowers to put in their salads, and I think they're more adventurous up here than what you're describing. I think okra would do well (if your instructor thinks it would sell). Not sure about rutabagas, but baby turnips (harukei or oasis) would - make sure you do succession planting of those, your greens, and your herbs. Don't forget to snip tops for beet greens. If people would eat arugula, I'd also try some tatsoi and/or maruba santoh in the pallets (vertical, I'm assuming) with the herbs and greens. They can be harvested small for salad or stir fry greens, if you plant some in beds the maruba santoh can also be used like bok choy, and if you're adventurous, you can even use the flowers. You can cook edamame just like lima beans, a milder flavor. Not just for Asian appetizer! I think it will help set you apart. If you're looking for cukes, consider Diva or Little Leaf H-19. they look like pickling cukes (lighter color and more lumpy) but don't tend to go bitter like the slicers do. If you do tomatoes, I'd try determinates unless you can put up tall trellis (or prune a lot). How long is your market? Jaunne Flamme is good, I'm trying Cosmonaut Volkov for an early. definitely do cherry toms - Sungold, Super Sweet 100, search tomato forum and you'll find others. I would try Sudduth strain Brandywine or Prudens Purple for an heirloom beefsteak (and it's not really purple). Maybe Mortgage Lifter? I've never had luck with peppers, esp. hot peppers (though the chiles grow well up here unlike the bells, these Yankees are leery of them). I'm trying Corno di Toro as well as Sweet Bananas this year. Cubanelles are another good sweet pepper if you can convince people they are not hot. Some people think anything that's not a bell is a chile. I grew eggplant for the first time last year and found it really wasn't worth the real estate.

Does the pot have a hole in the bottom? A pot this size may dry out every day in hot weather. Left outside below freezing, it could crack. 'Porch pots' are usually planted fresh each spring, and almost as often, changed at least once when the first plant fizzles from the heat of mid-summer. The sun beating down from above creates heat, and will probably heat up the porch to a sizzling degree. Even plants that like to be in the sun all day can get too hot at the roots to do well in these conditions. Knowing what the porch is made of would help predict possible heat levels. If you feel like adding a pic of the front of your house, you might get some suggestions beyond plants that one might put in a pot on the porch. Maybe an idea you hadn't considered.

Hi Lynne, I am very new to gardening. I lived in Massachusetts so everything pretty much had its season. Not that I was very knowledgeable there but this is more challenging, I think. We think the tall, short, tall thing might look nice from the street, as well as the porch. The porch is one and one-half steps up from the sidewalk since th city re-did the sidewalk. Friday they planted sod in the rectangle planting space. They were maybe concerned someone would fall into the area. I love all the tropical, no maintenance around here. Anything from palms to flowering plants, it doesn't matter. I might add the whole driveway/side of the property was cemented when we bought the house. We had the city cut a 14" x 15' swath in the cement along the prop3erty of the neighbor's concrete fence. It's southwest. We want to put something to hide the fence and be no maintenance. What about palms there? What ones? Thank you for any suggestions. I really appreciate it. Nancita