The more sun tomatoes get, the quicker they turn red. That is one reason some tomato books say prune for sunlight and airflow. Your plants looks rather crowded. Most years I use a dedicated tomato fertilizer, it does make a difference. Lacking that I will use flower fertilizer rather than any nitrogen rich fertilizer. Up here in Minn. he had a cool wet spring which caused tomatoes to just pretty much sit there, not really growing, and look green through June. Of my tomatoes this year, the one that is the furthest along is one I planted a month after all the rest- go figure.

You could put them together with mortar, cement and maybe run a post thru the middle to make columns. different sizes and use a flat round or square bottom and top to put plants on. Maybe your fireplace needs to be relined and they need to be put to use there.

Hi: I've not been impressed with the look of viburnums in online pics; might have to rethink them. I have thought about evergreen Rhododendrons and might use some. Our soil pH is fairly close to neutral, as I recall. I don't want to completely hide the fence; that type of fence needs patching up from time to time, and I'm pretty good-sized; trying to crawl through a dense hedge would be a but much. I don't mind seeing some fence here and there; the shrubs through break it up & distract the eye from it. We have a septic tank & leach field the side of which extends out maybe to that last Euonymus bush (and then runs across the yard, not long-ways); I don't want things that get way high, since I figure their rooting systems will be more elaborate. Since the fence is about 5'4" tall, a shrub or small tree needing be very tall, and since many shrubs are about as wide as tall, I'm leery of getting big stuff. Basically, I like planting shrubs 2 or 3 feet from the fence; I don't want to have to plant 5 or 6' out from the fence, and take up a lot of yard space. The shrub row will also look strange if some shrubs are 4 - 6' tall, and a couple are 20' holly trees, for example. Hence my preference for a pyramidal short holly, rather than a round bush (plus I like the pyramidal look better). The Emerald Green Arborvitae get 12 - 14' tall, they say, but are there for a reason; kind of like I'm holding my hand up to block the view of that dog kennel. Richard.

I have Variegated land Iris. The leaves are green with white to cream lines. The blooms are a light purple and have 4 to 5 blooms on a spike. Unfortunately they are unamed at this point. They are currently blooming and I can send pictures if you are interested. I would be interested in any of the listed trades. Thanks! Neal54 nealwooley54yahoo.com