serenae - I used clear plastic cups, and cut drainage slits in the cups. Then I take a ziplock baggie and cut slits in the bottom and top of that for drainage and ventilation. Some rain water as well as melted snow gets inside, but by this time of year it still needs occasional watering. I wouldn't be able to just, spray at the baggies, to get enough water in lol*, so I open all the baggies and spray a little water in that way, then close back up. It isn't really THAT big of a hassle, to me at least, because they are all on my front stoop and I only water maybe once a week at best. Because of that baggies covering the cups a lot of moisture is retained in those containers and until the weather is really warm it doesn't evaporate that quickly. Once the weather is warm enough that it DOES start to dry out quicker, it's also usually warm enough to just open up the baggies altogether. I have also used the gallon sized baggies with containers that I got from plants bought at the garden center, milk jug bottoms and pop bottle bottoms. Here is a pic of a couple from 2009: Here are a few pictures from this year:

I am trying to create shade in the fragrance garden and ran into this problem. I lost one winter daphne (the other is shaded enough); lost 3 August Beauty gardenias (one is okay); lost 2 of 3 gardenia radicans. So...I created temporary shade by planting colocasia and brugmansia around. Those are underplanted with heuchera (that deer/bunnies eat in winter, but they come back in spring and are left alone). On the outside, I added buddleia that may someday have to be moved once the sweet bay magnolia, the corkscrew willow and the Kousa dogwood are mature. I have 3 nandina Moon Bay on the sunny side of the willow (underneath). It is complicated. Through trial and error (and some expense) I learned how to deal with this on the east side of my house. Cameron

I'm finding your older daylilies are my favorites today. Cognizant Dissonant is such a lovely lavender that is showing a bit of applique today. Lounge Lizard is quite a pristine purple and that white edge really makes it pop. Golden Scroll always makes a bright splash in your garden, and that clump of Two Sues is an attention getter too. It looks like Sacco and Vanzettie is doing some mild pinching. Be sure to show any subsequent photos of extreme pleating on that one. Do you really have more than 200 Hansons now? If so, we need to see a lot more photographs. LOL! Debra This post was edited by shive on Sun, Jul 13, 14 at 16:15

I would go with full sun. Morning sun isn't warm enough for your heat-loving plants like cukes and tomatoes. Herbs and lettuces, on the other hand, would love the morning sun with shelter from the heat. But I would still go with the west beds. Good luck!