Container Garden Attempt

When I was growing up, my Grandma used to have a huge garden with many different kinds of vegetables.  Many we ate fresh, and many she canned or froze.  Her homemade sweet pickles were the best!  I have always dreamed of having a garden someday....alas, we live in a very shaded area.  Not many parts of our yard get enough sun to even consider a garden.  Last year we tried a Topsy-Turvy tomato plan hanger that resulted in a bountiful crop of exactly one tomato.  (Although I think that was less the sun problem and more the problem of going to the beach for one of the hottest weeks of the summer and not having anyone water it).  This year I decided that we will re-attempt the topsy-turvy and also try our luck with a small container garden. 
I browsed a few websites and decided that we would start small this year and plant tomatoes, peppers, and a few of my favorite herbs - cilantro, basil, and chives.  It's not quite safe to plant tomatoes in the ground here yet, because there's still that chance of frost, but being in a container, I can easily bring the pot inside if it gets too cold at night.  Even though my mouth waters at the idea of big huge beefsteak tomatoes, I chose to plant cherry tomatoes since they typically do better in a container.  Jackson is a big fan of yellow peppers, and the specific type the lady at the gardening store recommended for container growing wasn't quite ready to come home with us, so we'll get those at a later date.
For now, here's our little garden...

I bought the cheapest pots I could find at Christmas Tree Shop, and the chalkboard decals I had on hand from GroopDealz awhile back.  To actually pot the plants, I made sure there were some drainage holes in the pots, then put in a layer of gravel, and then filled the rest with potting soil. 

I'm really hoping for success.....and already contemplating adding a few types of peppers and maybe some mint??  I hope to be able to share pictures as my garden grows, and maybe some recipes using my fresh ingredients!!

Here's a few of the websites I used for advice:

Container Gardening Tips (very thorough with TONS of information)

Guide to Container Gardening

How about you??  Do you have a container garden?  What have you grown successfully?  I'd love to hear your words of wisdom!!