I use those black plastic pots every season and never had a problem with any plants dying from overheating. I'm in zone 5 so maybe it would be a bigger issue in a hotter zone. I have also used a few leftover white, red, and green pots and all worked fine. In a perfect world I might use all white pots to reflect heat but you rarely see them for sale in my area. During the very hot summer months you should keep the roots well supplied with water. Also try, if possible, to keep the plants shaded a bit during the very hot afternoon hours. TYG

I've been shopping around myself for biodegradable landscape fabric mainly for my container vegetable plants. Here's what I found at Lowes store: "Organic Garden Fabric" by Greenscape. This is 100% biodegradable & listed in the "Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI)." The Lowes website page link for this organic fabric: http://www.lowes.com/pd_376726-23132-208322_0_?productId=3606428&Ntt=weed+fabric&pl=1ätURL=%2Fpl__0_s%3FNtt%3Dweed%2Bfabric&facetInfo= I also like their "Burlap" roll (by Greenscape too). As an alternative to using a Capillary Watering Mat, I plan on trying this Burlap as a wicking or water mat to feed my container plants. The Burlap is also sold at Lowes store, here's the link below: http://www.lowes.com/pd_119195-23132-606120_0__?catalogId=10051&productId=3454566&UserSearch=burlap+roll&Ntt=burlap+roll&N=0amp;langId=-1&storeId=10151&rpp=24 Here's some information of what Burlap is --which is made from the Jute plant. Link from Wikipedia --about Burlap: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessian_(cloth)

Horse manure is my favorite, but I lost my source last summer and haven't yet found a new one. The dark brown color is natural and attractive, the texture is fine, it doesn't wash away to any particular degree, it breaks down beautifully (and my soil is starting to show it!) and it's free. I have also used shredded leaves I pick up off the roadside in my neighborhood. These are also nice looking, though much lighter in color and weight, they break down nicely and they're free. They will blow away in a heavy T-storm. Next year (I hope) I'll have leaf mold since I also gathered up unshredded leaves from around the 'hood and have them rotting nicely in a pile behind the garage. In my "woodland" areas under the big trees, I use shredded tree that I get whenever a local tree service or the power company passes through with a chipper. The color is rather light, but it's natural looking, a much heavier weight (too heavy for perennial borders), doesn't wash or blow away, it breaks down nicely into good soil (it's slow, though) and it's free. If pines were more common in my area, I'd use pine straw,

In my front landscape, I used the water permeable landscape fabric under a good layer of cedar mulch, with holes cut for the perennials I wanted there. It's doing very well several years in, and any weeds that try to get a foothold (usually dandelion) are easily pulled out by the taproot. That said, I have Lamium and creeping phlox spreading out as a "green mulch" around the taller plants, and they do a pretty good job of choking out any volunteer weeds now that they have a foothold. I tried the cardboard in my butterfly garden and it looked good for a season, but I didn't keep up with it and now I have a mini hayfield on the side of the house, with some butterfly friendly plants mixed in. I just let it go because I have noticed lots of wild critters using it as cover and habitat. I guess I have to pick my battles! :D