Your timing is great for putting out plants now. If you buy them at the local "big box" stores, just be sure to catch them fresh from the growers, before the store staff has had time to neglect them to death. Check your yellow pages phone book for nurseries near you to find the best plants. They should also have someone on staff that can help you decide what to grow in your area. Plus, you can always check with your local extension agent. They are a great source for literature on anything dealing with horticulture.

Blackbird squabbles bothered me, with one pair attacking another pair's baby, etc. Plus they would try to roost on my house. And peck at all my growing things. So, since I have soil with plenty of small rocks I started waving my arms and then throwing rocks NEAR them, not at them. After a few days they learned that arm-waving precedes the rocks, and they would fly away. Next I would slam a door or sliding window before going outside to waive my arms. Persistence paid off and from then on the blackbirds were deterred from spending much time at my place just by slamming a window or door. The next year they only needed a few days of re-training. My neighbors down the street often have fifty blackbirds on their property. I seldom have any.

We added a small sunroom to our home about 24 years ago. Our house is small and it really opened it up and made it lighter. On the southern wall we have double hung floor to celing windows, the west side has one 36" wide double hung (also to the floor); and the east side has a 5' french door and two skylights. The north is open to the house by an open archway of about 10ft. The windows are all double paned, low e glass. The room does warm up in the winter on a sunny day and the ceramic floor is *supposed* to retain the heat (it was laid on a foundation of 4 ft. of cement ~ as per rules for getting the solar tax rebate on the last year it was offered). HOWEVER, I would strongly suggest a small wood or gas stove to keep the place warm. We do have a small Vermont Castings wood stove and it heats the room nicely. You'll love your sunroom if you put it on :)

Well I hope to some day enclose half of the front porch. I will need to figure a way for cooling. There is no way to plant in front as we are too close to the street. I would like to enclose the right side of the porch, as you face our house, which would cover the front door opening into between our dinning room living room space. This would make an air space in winter to help keep cold air blasting into the house when we enter. Leave the other side open for a landing on raining or snowing days while standing at the door letting us in. Would also create that sunny winter spot you are trying to create at your house for us. :^))). I need to find some sun blocking or heat stopping kind of shades for windows before I even consider enclosing this end. Maybe special insulation in the walls too. It is a project down the road. We always considered when we had the porch built on the house to begin with. Since it is all on a regular foundation like the house and actually is part of the house we just need to close it in. There are no permits needed unless we decide to do some special electrical. There is already a plug and a light. So a some day project. I know I would use it as I am using it now in the evenings. Here is a link that might be useful: Re-Arranged the front porch.