Gooseberries can be invasive if ignored, but if you prune them occasionally for fruit they should not cause too many problems. They do sucker at the tips of branches--posibly that would be more problematic with your sandy soil--we have clay in my area. They also like some soil acidity, but don't seem too demanding about that. My Pixwell gooseberry bushes form an arching mound about chest high. They are easy to propagate, so you would find it simple to expand your hedge. You could just prune the inner side facing your garden and use the old outer branches as your hedge. Their branches are thorny, but stronger and more flexible than the canes of raspberries and blackberries. They make a fairly attractive, impenetrable shrub. Additionally, they are very flexible regarding lighting. I agree that rugosa roses, with attractive hips, would also be very nice. Hansa grows rather large and is quite vigorous, but could be kept pruned; or you could choose one of the smaller, less vigorous ones. Rugosas are supposed to like sandy soil, and even grow on beaches. There are some older varieties, such as Frau Dagmar Hartopp (possibly mispelled by me) which have been popular for ages.

I second the Bright Lights Swiss chard and most herbs. In particular, bronze fennel, Mexican tarragon, variegated sages, pineapple sage, lemongrass, salad burnet, parsley, rosemary, lavender, bay, society garlic (which is really an amaryllis), anise-hyssop, spilanthes. Some scented geraniums are really pretty, and you can cook with them or make tea. They won't make the winter in DFW, but you can grow them in pots, or grow it as an annual (they cut easily, for propagation purposes). There is roselle, which I haven't grown yet, that is a type of hibiscus. You use it for tea, and I think you can cook with it, too. Okra is very pretty, whether you eat it or not(related to hibiscus, mallow, and cotton). This year, I am going to try a burgundy okra- I bet it will be even more beautiful. I have Russian red kale and bull's blood beet(used for the reddish-purple leaves instead of the root)that is pretty right now. Artichoke and cardoon are very pretty, too. I am going to try purple beans this year, and some colorful pepper plants (orange, red, yellow, purple). The fish pepper is an heirloom hot pepper with variegated leaves(green and white) and peppers that change colors and have stripes. The habanero I grew last year had the most beautiful peppers I have ever seen- more red-orange and bigger than the puny ones you see at the grocery store! There are some beautifully colored and marked tomatoes out there. Several of the purple and black heirloom tomatoes are supposed to do well in Texas: Black Krim, Black prince, Cherokee purple, etc. Purple tomatillo is a really nice change from plain ol' green. Also going to try purple brussels sprouts, purple asparagus, purple artichoke, purple cayenne...I'm not a purple freak, but there are alot of purple veggies out there! If there's a weird color veggie, I want to grow it:). Romanesco broccoli has a beautiful spiral pattern to it's crowns, and there's, yes, purple broccoli and cauliflower! Serpent head garlics look really cool. Many beautiful lettuces and greens, such as tri-color amaranth (most amaranths look really pretty). Oh, and there's a ton of beautiful eggplants - whites with pink or purple stripes, green, orange, yellow. There's also alot of pretty corn, such as Rainbow sweet Inca corn and bloody butcher. There's a melon called Armenian melon that is picked young for use as a cucumber. I grew it last year, and it did very well in heat and drought. It's sometimes called serpent melon, too. There is one that is dark green with light green stripes called painted serpent. I'm growing that one this year. There are alot of pretty squashes and melons out there, too. Check out Baker Creek seeds. They have a blue-green squash I am going to try this year - Marina di Chioggia. Moon and Stars melon is pretty, with yellow splashes on the leaves and on the melons. Lots of pretty beans and other things, too. Don't forget edible flowers: dianthus, marigold, pansy, viola, roses, nasturtiums. Or sunflower, if you eat the seeds. Here is a link that might be useful: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Pyracanthus looks great but can grow somewhat tall, good choice if you can maintain it regularly. Mine need cutting back every year even though they are not a fence. Blackberries mostly need to be staked, don't they? Nice but not low-maintenance. Barberry is a beautiful thorny bush, berries can be used for seasoning pilaf, and varieties with purplish leaves exist, and it stays a medium size but it is prohibited in some areas, you'll want to check. Gooseberry is a beautiful thorny edible! Can be trained into shape and is very resilient. As to the spiny vines sticking out in the woods - you could mean smilax or wild sarsaparilla.These are completely unmanageable. I wouldn't bother growing them; lots of people desperately try to get rid of them. The tender shoot tips are edible and really good though.

RedQueen, I'm in SW Michigan (zone 5) and I did MGs for the first time last year. I didn't plant my seeds until about now, and the first month of growth was SLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But once they got up to about a foot tall, they REALLY took off. Suggestions: For fast growth and foliage, you *DO* want to water them. Then once they are established, cut down on the watering and they'll flower more. But for little "babies" that aren't to the flowering stage yet, if they don't have enough water then they won't have what they need to grow. Once they are growing strong (sending out tendrils), you'll want to watch them EVERY DAY if you want to get complete coverage for the teepee. These things grow like the dickens once they get going, but they're not very smart about *where* they grow. You'll want to direct them to the bare spots on your teepee each day so they don't just start growing on each other or heading back down towards the ground. (Learn from my mistake, please!) The vines are very forgiving of your manipulation, too -- I've unwrapped them where they had spiraled around each other a dozen times and directed them to where I wanted them to go, and they just kept on going. But it takes a LOT more time to unwrap them than it does to just direct them in the right spot in the first place. In my experience, Grandpa Otts isn't the fastest/strongest grower. I found that the Mixed Colors seeds grew faster than the other varieties I had last year (grandpa otts, tricolor, and heavenly blue). Good luck!