Anything rated Zone 3/4/5 (if you have Zone 6/7 winter) should do okay in a container, provided there is adequate drainage in the container and you can take steps to do some protection in severe cold spells and keep excessive moisture out of the container through winter, which can often kill a plant faster (rotting a crown) than any cold. The phloxes (paniculata/"Summer phlox" or subulata "creeping phlox") are hardy to Zone 4 & 3 respectively The heucheras (depending on type) are hardy to Zones 3/4 Astilbes are generally Zone 4. Daylilies can be Zone 3/4 depending on variety. Many of the mints (a large family) are very hardy and many of the menthas within that family are generally hardy to Zone 3. They can also grow in shade where other herbs prefer more sun. Some of the other plants you mention like the vinca, impatiens, trailing lobelia, pansies, basil are either tender perennials or annuals and may or may not reseed. I have seen the regular impatiens reseed here but not sure about the new guineas. One good reseeder as annual or perennial depending on variety (where some are hardy and others tender) are the salvias (which are in the mint family). They do like a little more light but some of the dwarf varieties might offer a nice combination plus with dead-heading, they can go from all summer until frost knocks them back. Another mint family potential reseeder and/or perennial are the balms (lemon balm, bee balm, etc). Yet another possibility includes one of my staples - the wax begonia and petunias. I have had both reseed as well and with the begonia being a tender perennial, they can be scooped out and nursed inside to be planted out the following season. They like other tender perennials, tend to have a longer bloom duration than the hardies - akin to annuals. The petunias bloom better in more sun but can have a decent bloom in part sun. Don't be afraid to grow perennials. If they spread, just dump them out, divide, and replant! I've done this with my containered daylilies and hostas and will be doing it for my asiatic lilies hopefully this fall (I keep putting it off...lol).

Okay, let me back up a bit. Their is a numerical scale that measures the acidity of soil. Ths scale runs from zero, at the acid end, to 14 at the alkaline end; 7 is neutral. For herbs, soils should be neutral - between 6 and 7.5. That's what my soil runs. Fertilizers, plant debris and leaching, caused by high amounts of rainfall, increase the acidic properties, so liming is a good idea once a year. Potting soils and most garden soil mixtures are designed to have the appropriate pH. Overly acidic soils can be modified, or "sweetened", by adding limestone and/or by mixing bags of prepared potting soil (high in magnesium and calcium)into your growing beds. A too alkaline soil can be corrected by adding compost, or peat, or sulfur or a sulfate compound. According to NCSU, North Carolina soils tend to be leached out by the high amount of rainfall and are therefore very acidic (containing higher amounts of hydrogen and aluminum) which is bad pie for most plants. The so-called "acid loving" plants are actually just more acid tollerant. They also state that the Piedmont area is higher in Magnesium and the Coastal areas are higher in calcium. Therefore, Dolomite lime (a magnesium lime) is best used in coastal soils and Calcitric lime (a calcium lime) is the better one to use for Piedmont soils, although it is very expensive if you have a large area that needs applications. The amount of lime needed also depends upon the individual plants requirements for nutrients. Leaching depletes the naturally occuring calcium and magnesium that keeps the soil in balance. If one or the other or both are lacking, then the amount of hydrogen and aluminum are higher and thus pH is lower, or acid. Plants also quickly deplete magnesium and calcium that is available in the soil, so the need for adding lime is even greater in acidic soils. As I understand it, the ability for plants to obsorb essential nutrients they need is directly enfluenced by the pH of that soil. Some plants are more tollerant of acidity, but most need a higher pH to be at their peak of production and have the ability to withstand drought conditions. If you add a lot of organic matter to your soil, then it tends to increase the pH, because organic matter contains a lot less aluminum, which is one of the chemicals that make up highly acidic soils. Once again, acid soils restrict the plants ability to obsorb the nutrients they need. So, what all this tells me is that there is something you have added or are adding to your soil, or that is present in what you fertilize them with that gives them what they need, else they would not be thriving in highly acidic soil, under Loblolly trees. So, what kind of herbs do you grow, Renee? [By the way, I love Loblolly pines - planted some here in Okie on my land. I also planted three Black Japanese pines. Gorgeous. I love the way pines sway and "sing" in the wind and the way the pine straw smells on damp Fall mornings. When I was a kid, I used to climb to the top of the tall pines in my grandparents yard high on a hill and ride in the wind. You could see forever it seemed, and the ride was awesome! Pine straw is great to use in strawberry beds as mulch. Helps keep slugs out of them, too. And pine straw makes really beautiful woven Indian baskets. Pines also are great habitats for squirrels and birds of all kinds, and provides a cool retreat in summer. It is so nice to have some green in the bleakness of cold, dreary winters. I love pines! What would Christmas be without conifers? - pines, firs, spruce, & cedars. I need some hollys now. Winterberry with lots of red berries would be nice to have.] DH got a great job offer in Raleigh, but I don't think he will take it. (Waaaaaah!) He is leaning towards the one offered in Sand Springs, Okla. northeast of here. (Hmmmmm) It is a nice area alright. They get a lot more rain up there. Deep rich soil. "Green country" its called. That would be an improvement over living out here, high and dry in the middle of po-dunk-Oklahoma. We have lived here 8 years and are still considered outsiders. Living near Tulsa would be really great. Just have to wait and see how it goes. One other really good thing about moving up that way is that I would be nearer my younger son and his family who are relocating to that area - getting the heck out of Houston!!! (See my post about their experience in Hurricane Rita in "Conversations"). My daughter may leave SC and move back here to Tulsa area too. Looks like Fate stepped in and is bringing us all back together and this is how it is meant to go. Who knows?

I live in the subtropics, where summer temps frequently get to 35C and above. Most of my herbs do extremely well in that sort of heat - with high humidity as well. I think your main problem is the size of your pots. If you have a range of herbs on a bookshelf-sized planter stand, those pots would have to be quite small - far too small for most herbs. Of course they'll heat up quickly, and also lose moisture very quickly. I suggest putting your plants in the largest pots you can manage, and make them terracotta pots, which 'breathe'. As the water evaporates through them, they create a cooling effect - much like sweating in humans. Mulch the tops of the pots thickly - human or pet hair is excellent, but anything from stones to straw will do the trick (I prefer using organic mulches because it helps keep the soil in good nick.) If your deck is up high, as you say, you're probably getting a fair bit of wind up there. That will be more damaging to your plants than the heat. Get some wind-tolerant mature plants or screens and place them so as to protect your baby plants. As for a shade cover - make a sort of 'table' with 4 tall legs on castors or wheels. The top of the 'table' can be of shade-cloth attached to the framework. See if your local friendly plumber has some metal pipe to spare, or make it of wood or PVC piping. You'll need to put 'brakes' on each corner of it so it doesn't move around by itself in the wind - think the sort of brakes that go on supermarket trolleys and babies' prams. Perhaps have just 2 of the legs with wheels so you can tip and push. Or get one of those sail decking covers that can be put up and taken down easily. http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.jhc.co.nz/galleries/493350c3af86c/deck_sail.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.jhc.co.nz/gallery_page.php%3Fgallery_id%3D493350c3af86c&usg=__D2SCAkqCeAu8-Lv4uy-W0h-AgnE=&h=480&w=640&sz=97&hl=en&start=91&tbnid=lDc_l12OXjypEM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsail%2Bdeck%2Bcovers%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D80 Here is a link that might be useful:

Very few of the violets and pansies will do well in the hot summers, same with the nasturtiums - they are all cool season plants. In the hotter times of the year you can grow some ginger and cardamom in pots. Ginger root will want a larger pot since it gets a bit bigger (maybe 2 feet tall with a root mass around 1 foot wide). Cardamom stays pretty small, around a foot tall with a small root mass. It would probably over winter for you - it does in my zone 7b garden if I remember to bury it under a foot of leaves. Ginger root takes most of the year to make new roots, you'll get about four times the amount of ginger you plant. Some people break off small sections to use when they need it, I tend to just harvest it all in the fall when I dig up the whole row (but I'm not growing it in pots). Cardamom won't bloom and set seed outside of the tropics so you'll never get the spice Cardamom from it but the leaves are very spicy and taste good in asian food. It also smells tropical and spicy when you just brush against the leaves. Its a great houseplant as well as potted patio plant. Both of them will grow without any direct sunlight.