We recently found Euonymus "Manhattan" that are 4 ft wide by 5 feet high, planted on a trellis. They grow to 8 x 8. We got eight to cover our ugly "good neighbor" back and side fences. I thought of these when I saw them as a good solution instead of box or hollies as they would take a long time to get full and lush. Now that they are in place along the fence line, they look really good. They are not very deep, like other hedge plants would be. For goodness sake don't plant juniper for a hedge, too many houses have that here, and everybody that has it when they got their houses ends up hating it and ripping it out! What about a hedge of thornless or nearly thornless roses?? R. Banksaie normalis, banksaie banksaie or banksaie lutea are great for this and they will cover 20-30 feet in only a few short years. To see some pics of our recent landscaping projects and our Roses we grow, ck out my Picture Trail: careytearose Here is a link that might be useful: look at Landscaping Projects, Favourite ROSES We Grow albums

Be sure to keep Thyme relatively dry and depending on which lavender you have relatively dry too. Both of the thyme and lavendar sould be in 6-10 hours of sun. Parsley anywhere you can find a relatively moist site in 6+ hrs of sun. Lemon balm and Greek oregano are more of a problem. I recommend putting greek oregano in a large put in 6+ hrs of sun and the lemon balm (at least at my house in Auburn, Al) is growing and spreading in mostly shade. The oregano and lemon balm are the most aggressive of the plants you heve. Bear that in mind when planting them.

For early starting of non-hardy plants indoors use a nail to punch some holes in the bottom of margarine containers, individual yogurt cups, etc. for drainage, plant seeds in them. Or cut tops off of milk, bleach, etc. containers, punch holes in the bottom. Can cut off top, use bottoms of small packages which are like wax- or plastic-coated cardboard, e.g. single-serving milk containers. If you don't have a space where they can drain without problems, and have a container that can handle some drainage, (e.g. cookie sheet), put them on it. If there's a problem with the plant container standing in water, find something small that is expendable, or a short board, etc. to put under the pot to hold it above the drained water. Join a garden club, horticultural society, then trade seeds, slips, started plants, etc. (but if they hold a plant exchange, they'll probably charge a transfer fee to help cover the group's expenses). Check neighbours, friends to find fellow gardeners (though, gardeners, being inclined to talk about their hobby, you may well know who they are at present). Trade seeds, slips, ideas with them. Grow more than you can use of crops that grow easily at your space, then trade produce with neighbours who grow stuff that you don't or find hard to grow. Frugal forever! joyful

Due to the space limitation and the underlying infrastructure, don't plant directly in the ground. Cover the ground between the new patio and the fence with pea gravel or similar. Set rectangular planters over that with perennials that can take afternoon sun and heat. However, if you want more seating, perhaps a bench against the fence, along with planters, would be even better.