Interesting I see there are 4 heat zones in my state. Im in heat zone 1, I don't have to go far for that to change. I can see how it can make a big difference Thank you for the link Seysonn its something Ill use for future reference. Ive been growing hots for 25 years always in the same aria . Surrounded by water keeps me 10 degrees cooler then just 10 miles up the road. Good place to get a most excellent fruit set. Ive seen it 100 in Phily . and stay in the high 80s here, Very useful information

I have had limited success with regular containers. The problem for me was that the containers dried out unless they were watered twice per day, however, when they were watered twice per day, too many nutrients were washed away. I switched to Self-Watering containers from Gardeners.com: http://www.gardeners.com They have many types of self-watering containers, but item #35-901 has worked the best for me. Self-watering containers keep your soil evenly moist without washing away any of the nutrients. Because of the even moisture combined with retaining soil nutrients, my self watering container plants are 2-3 times the size of my in-ground plants. The soil in self-watering containers needs to be able to wick moisture from the water reservoir, so I use the following mix for 1 self-watering container (40 qts). Approximately 20qts sphagnum peat moss and 20qts of compost.  A couple of cups of perlite  1/3 cup of blood meal (nitrogen)  1/3 cup of green sand (potassium)  1/3 cup of colloidal phosphate (phosphorus)  1 tablespoon of azomite  I also mix in some Limestone to counter act the acidity of the peat moss. I have also tried Container Soil and general purpose organic fertilizer. This worked well, but not as well as the custom mix. Good Luck and let me know how it goes. Fernando

The USDA hardiness zones only apply to expected winter cold temperatures. They have nothing to do with how well a plant can tolerate summer heat or humidity. Assigning a hardiness range is meaningless.....if they will withstand a zone 4 winter, then of course they will withstand a zone 9 one!! To determine if a plant is able to withstand your summer conditions, you need to look at other sources.......like the heat zone map. Or even better for your situation, the Sunset Western Garden Book. Nepeta x faassenii 'Walker's Low' is suitable for ALL Sunset zones (as are most other species and hybrids of Nepeta). 'Walker's Low' is a little misleading in its name :-) It is not low growing at all (named after the garden in England where it was discovered) but rather a big, vigorous plant, typically growing to 3' tall and as wide. There are other cultivars that would be more suitable for a groundcover or low growing edging plant. I'd look at 'Litte Titch', 'Little Trudy', 'Purrsian Blue', 'Cat's Meow' or 'Junior Walker'. And it enjoys full sun and does well in dry, xeric gardens once established.

I also thought of incorporating a low planter behind the plants in the courtyard area (like the photoshop image) or even some potted plants among the in-ground plantings to play with the heights and give it more separation of space but still primarily living/green.