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Stick to Burlap tied with raffia string - It's cheap and it won't matter when it gets wet and stains after you water the plants the first time...

I'm pretty sure that Krylon Fusion for Plastic won't fade. It comes in lots of colors and textures and would be easy to apply and wash.

I would keep an eye out at thrift stores or curbside for big baskets or other coverings. I think outdoors any fabric is going to look really bad in short order, sagging and drooping and fading -- EXACTLY the "shanty-town" look you want to avoid.

I think this is not a good idea. However, if you must, my suggestions are:

1. don't cover the bottoms of the pots.
2. consider "sunbrella" fabric -- the outdoor upholstery fabric used for cushions and umbrellas. You'll get what you pay for in fabric, unless you find it on discount.

Consider looking for pots on deep discount, like at the dollar store. Craiglist might be a source for free pots. By the time you spend $ on yardage, you may as well have purchased a pot or three. Also try thrift stores for interesting containers that you could put your plants in. Not every plant needs a terracotta container. For example, enamel coated pitchers and pots could make a fun arrangement. Put nail holes in the bottom for drainage.

I was just at Jo Ann fabric last week, and the had very inexpensive terra cotta pots. Like $.79 for one that was about three inches, etc. I know Ikea and Home Depot have cheap clay pots too. It seems to me you'd end up spending as much on the batting and fabric to cover something up as you would on just getting what you want in the first place.

What about a board leaned up against the pots to hide them? You could paint and decorate the board and put the plastic pots behind them.

Seconding clay / terracotta pots. They're usually cheap and look nice, plus they hold up better than plastic in the sun. (And if/when they need thrown away, they're much better for the environment than plastic!) I'm not sure how it is in the US, but here in Europe you can find all sorts of shapes. I also like the naturally different terracotta shades. This photo isn't the greatest, but shows a few of these sorts of pots:
http://flickr.com/photos/fraise/2972013616/

go to ikea. you would not believe how cheap they are. some smaller ones are under a $1. my fav ones are $2. you will spend just as much money on fabric & you won't be getting the insulation you crave.

*ps-is you porch metal? my last place had one of those fire escape porches. my plants always died b/c they would cook. maybe you need some sort of shelf.

where do you get those plastic ones? I need larger ones for growing plants to go inside my planters.

Second recommendation for baskets. You can find them on sale at craft stores, Pier 1, and Crate & Barrel. I recently purchased a "fire log" basket for $11. All you add is a cheap plastic liner (literally like 59 cents) on the inside, drop the plan in, and add a little spanish moss on top to cover the fact that your plant may be a little too small to fill out the basket right now. In total, $13.

While I love the organic feel of terra cotta, they break and then need to be replaced. Plus they get calcium build up. So, go that route but just note you might need to budget a few dollars a year to replacement or some time to scrub the calcium off.

Could wrap them in rope, or cluster them in a larger container.

Thanks for the feedback!!!

You are probably right about the fabric issue. It would probably end up being at least as expensive as clay pots.

It turns out the insulation problem came up even in January. My sweet pea seedlings were unhappy, so I moved the pot so the roots are in the shade and they are perkier now. Black pots just heat up fast I guess.

I think what I'll have to do is place the pots so they are not in full sun. (The balcony is stuccoed, but for whatever reason, it heats up like a skillet.)

And then for aesthetics, I will look for a really big, cheap clay pot to put my 5-gallon pot in.

Just as an interesting factoid, someone came up with a brilliant method for cheap refridgeration in Africa: you put a pot inside a bigger pot, fill the space between them with sand, and then get the sand wet. All day long, the water evaporates and keeps the inner pot cool (where the food goes). I don't know how well it works, but it sounded like it might.

Not to compare my issues with people trying to feed themselves, but hey, if it works, why not borrow, right? I was thinking maybe there's something besides sand that I could put in there to insulate.

Btw, Lady J, I forgot to say, I posted a request and I was given these pots by lovely people on lafreecycle.

I am really excited by my seedlings. I am kind of impatient actually. It makes a nice little something to look forward to!