I have a sulcata and I don't think a 1'H box will keep him out of your flowers for long. Mine will go almost vertical trying to reach a tasty morsel. We had to put a two foot high fence around our plants and he still eats anything he can reach and spends hours ramming it. I will let someone else address the water damage issue.

I utilize potted ivy/hanging geraniums elsewhere with great success. With a little deadheading & fertilizer, they thrive. It's the middle of Dec and they're throwing out blooms like crazy. So yes, geraniums were at the top of my list although I was thinking about branching out. I love lantana although my experience with them is that they get quite large. And in my part of the world, they don't bloom well w/ winter shadows. Do you think a mish-mash of different flowers would be aesthetically better or worse than a consistent mix of 1-2 plant types (i.e. geraniums & petunias)? Also, do you keep your planter box flowers in their pots so you can trade them out twice a year? Or do you plant them in soil and treat them like perennials? Remember: I'm within 5 miles from the ocean and don't have to worry about frost. Southern CA has its issues, but weather is not one of them. I've lived in Seattle & Dallas and learned that many of the traditional rules don't apply to our gardens. Thanks...

First, I think it's great that you are thinking about your neighbors (even if I don't agree with them). I see so much open land dominated by lawn, and I can just see how much life there could be if there were more native plants in this area, but that is out of your control. Just to let you know, I am someone who spends a lot of her time educating/promoting the use of natives in landscaping. :) I do love to use zinnias and Mexican Sunflowers too, so am not a purist in any way. Still I get irked that lawns get privileged over the life of other species that so desperately need habitat. We are facing the 6th great extinction precisely because we can't seem to understand that we need to share our yards and stop taking natural areas. I don't think Monarchs would make it into the playhouse, but you never know. You have things you can do to contain your garden and concomitant seed dispersal. So, here's my .02 cents. :) You can start putting a hedgerow with native bushes and/or small trees. This would help to keep thing in your yard to some extent (some seeds would of course get carried up and away). You would have many added benefits: --add beauty and year long interest and habitat --privacy --feed different kinds of wonderful moth/butterfly caterpillars and provide habitat for other beneficial insects and birds (especially if you choose shrubs that flower in the spring and offer berries in the fall) --windbreak for your butterflies and cover for them as well You could not worry about seeds too--mowing, etc will cut down the plants, and they would eventually exhaust from the roots. As far as spreading through root system, that is most likely the common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, so you can just simply not plant that one. There are probably other milkweeds native to your area. Looks like A. tuberosa, A. incarnata, A. sullivantii, A.speciosa are all native to your area, and would be very well-behaved in a typical garden. You might get volunteer seedlings, but those are generally welcomed. Also, you can dead-head the seed pods, so that would eliminate the seed dispersal issue. Don't forget to plant some fall blooming plants too so that the Monarchs and other pollinators have something to fuel up on before they make their trip south. There are lots of organizations to help you. Perhaps the school itself would be interested in a pollinator/beneficial insect garden, very important for agriculture. I've included a link to a list of MN wildflowers, so that might be helpful. Then there are Wild Ones chapters too in MN: http://www.wildones.org/connect/chapters/minnesota-chapters/ Thank you for taking care of the Monarchs, especially when you are beset by so many boundaries. Here is a link that might be useful: MN wildflowers

Do NOT allow the collage kids to maintain the lawn and landscaping for a discount. I can tell you they won't do it. I know this from experience of being a landlord for more than 20 years and a Realtor for 40 years. It may start off okay, or not, but the minute they become busy with school, work, friends, and other things to do they will not take care of the landscaping. Don't do it. In fact, do the repairs before you rent. Take photos. Then when they move out and you have to repair again from their occupancy, then that is the time to do the rest of the curb appeal improvements before you put it on the market. If you do it now, you will have to do it again when the collage kids move. JME.