The most important thing to tell us, Christine is how much sun/shade that deck space gets throughout summer. Please be as specific as possible (hours of direct sun, orientation, etc)...

There's no lack of support here! I'm in zone 5, and I'd be more than happy to help! There are many good points to gardening in the north, and a few bad ones... but aside from our cold winters, which are good for growing plants that require a cold dormancy, the other seasons are wonderful! Let us know when you get to zone 5, and we'll be here to help! I have rather shallow raised beds for veggies... I grow bush green beans, short carrots, tomatoes, pea pods, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, peppers, okra... you name it! Just remember that the edges, especially, will dry out faster... keep an eye on moisture content. It's entirely possible to grow kind of shallow... the roots simply go in a different direction under the soil, spreading out horizontally rather than growing quite so vertically.

mdr944 - When I bring mine in - usually around Columbus day, I stick it by my balcony sliding glass doors where there is a plain floor-ceiling glass that is part of the door. In winter, I go no sunlight there (I face NE), but it is somewhat "bright". But more importantly, I have a table lamp with a 200W reading light near it, so it gets artificial light during the day. I reduce the watering a bit and cease fertilizing. It may have a bit of a shock and will yellow and drop some leaves but it recovers and will often give me a couple blooms in February or March. I understand that some people place them in a cool dark spot, but then since they are evergreen, that tends to really stress them and they will drop leaves, but will resprout later when brought into warmer brighter conditions. But when that happens, they are very late to bloom since they bloom on new growth. However if you can keep it near a bright reading lamp, then it can hang on through the winter and can bloom too! The main thing to look out for if you keep it in a bright or sunny warm spot inside, is to keep humidity around it. These can easily get spider mites if the air is too dry around the leaves, so either sitting it in a big pebble tray filled with water or using a humidifier (I keep a couple going in winter), will help. I was trying to see if I had a fuller picture of it from last year when it was outside but I did manage to find one not long after I brought it in when it was still blooming: From an older picture of it when it is outside when it is blooming, it looks like this (my hummingbirds like perching on it and will peck at the flowers too): Believe it or not, this was from Home Depot in a 2 gallon pot with 4 plants in it. It has slowly died back to two thick ones over the years, but I have actually never pruned it to shape (which I really really should do...LOL). I just prune off any dead or broken branches. It is in a 14" pot, which was about the biggest that I felt that I could lift (I have since potted a large coffee plant in a 16" pot, but that is a bit easier to lift since it is one central trunk that sits straight up).

Some people I know get the styrofoam fish boxes from grocery stores. They are small window box size. Then you can deform it to round the edges and look like stone using a heat gun. The idea is faux stone look after you deform then paint. Very stinky bad chemicals when you heat styrofoam tho. I tried it and it bothered me to heat the stuff. My dh was insulating our foundation and then covering the insulation with stucco. He stuccoed my fish box and now its a very light weight planter that looks "real". I want to add some paint cuz I don't love the stucco color but it works very well as a planter is light and free. If you do try to melt styrofoam, do it outside and even then it is nasty. Also want to share hint from another thread of using garden perennials and wild plants in containers. I'm trying it this year in 2 of my pots. Kathy