You don't say where you live, but here in PA, I will be planting leaf
lettuce and other greens in a few weeks time. They will last well into the
fall. The advantage of having them in pots will be that they will be easy
to cover, or even move into shelter (unheated garage) if an early frost
threatens. Some of the leaf lettuces are quite pretty, with red leaves
and/or splotches.

Swiss chard is another good idea, either in pots or in the ground. The
variety "Bright Lights" is a mix of colors--reds, salmons, yellows, and
whites--and is quite attractive. They grow it as an ornamental at Longwood
Gardens, and if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for the rest of
us. It likes some sun, but doesn't need to have direct sun all day long.

A shrub to consider for next spring is the Crandall currant. It's very
pretty when it blooms, with yellow blossoms that smell enticingly of cloves.
The fruits are a bit of an acquired taste raw--I love them, but not everyone
does--but they make excellent juice or jelly, and superior fruit wine. They
will grow and fruit in partial shade, and are an american native that
requires little care, aside from pruning, and in my experience have no pest
or disease problems. They're not usually available at nurseries, you would
need to mail order them.

Cheers,
Sue

"andrea baker" wrote in message
om...
Hi folks,

I have a weird gardening space at my new place (where I moved in on
May 25).

Due to neighborhood rules that I don't really have the energy to
challenge, I'm only allowed to plant trees and shrubs and flowers in
my lawn (and I've put in 3 fruit trees and 4 raspberry plants
disguised as ornamental shrubs, ha!).

Veggie gardens in the lawn are a no-no; so therefore, to get around
the rules, I will have to plant my veggies in containers (I did plant
some pole beans on the south side of the house where I think I can
disguise them as some sort of vine, hee hee, and also managed to sneak
some basil in with the flowers that were already growing next to the
house, but I don't want to push my luck by being too obvious about
growing veggies where I'm not supposed to).

The place I have for containers is the front porch/deck. It is on the
east side of the house, and has a pine tree just to the north of it,
so there isn't a heck of a lot of sun there. So far, I have some
tomatoes in large pots (I've used the pots that the trees came in).

It's July 17 now, so pretty much too late to plant anything, I think,
unless someone can give me some good ideas.

What do you suggest I grow there now?

And what do you suggest I grow there next spring?

Thank you in advance,

Andrea Baker