No offense taken, Andrew, I appreciate your comments and value your opinion. :o) You're right about mockups, it's almost impossible to get a feel for the depth of an area from a photo, and the plantings are pulled too far forward in an attempt to make the shrubs in the rear visible. I would never try to do a design without doing it in plan view with accurate measurements. What is was trying to show is how the house would look from the front with the door/entry unobscured, but the 2D nature of photos doesn't take the garage wall into consideration. In fact, you can't even tell there is a blank wall there. Point taken. How would you address the position of the door on the far left of the center section? Would you curve the path out to the right to create a planting area and then return to the left to end up somewhere near the door? Ignore the door position and run the walk to the area to the right of the door with a smaller paved area that included the door (assuming that the HO didn't want a patio there)? What would you use for a focal point and/or plantings to disguise the mass of the garage that you see when approaching from the right? Would the focal point and/or plantings block the view of the door from the street? What can be done to minimize the prominence of the garage and driveway at this point, when the whole thing is paved? Many, if not most, homes are built without any thought given to how the layout of house, drive, and walks will affect future landscaping. I'm sure this big garage/hidden entrance is not all that unusual. Does anyone have examples of similar homes that are landscaped in a way that addresses these problems?

The only part of your list that could be done in "shifts" are the sugar snap peas first, followed by the other vegetables. Peas are a cool weather crop, so it is too late in zone 7 this year. Next year you can get a crop of peas in before the other plants by getting a very early start. The other crops you mentioned are vegetables that grow for the whole summer season, there are no "shifts" with them. Summer squash are generally bush plants, not vining plants, and will not climb a trellis (plan on a 4ft ground spread). You could plant them in front of the trellis, with the pole beans climbing the trellis behind them. An exception I have grown on a trellis is Tromboncino Rampicante. It is actually a winter squash that you pick while still green and immature. Tastes very much like zucchini, is vining, and as a big bonus is not bothered by squash vine borer. It is huge however, and will take up a lot of that trellis. Any vining winter squash can be grown on a trellis, but be prepared to "tie up" the fruits to the trellis in net bags or panty hose legs so that they don't weigh down and break the vines. These plants are generally huge, you can easily fill your 8ft trellis with a couple of these. A semi-bush winter squash might be best for you. They can be trained up a trellis, but are a manageable size. Try Cornell Bush Delicata squash or some of the Acorn squashes (Honeybear or Sweet Reba). If I only had 8ft of growing space and was growing what is on your list, I would put pole beans on half of the trellis, and two semi-bush winter squash on the other half. Then I would put summer squash on the ground in front of the trellis.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I just put one together about 6 weeks ago and had some what the same problem. It took me twice taking the wooden frame apart and re trimming. Do not go by the measurements given in the instructions you will never get it right. I got the 4 floor boards down placed the metal floor plates on top and figured out the placements. Hope this helps.

I bought a clear solar pool cover for my 6x8 and wrap the whole thing in it for winter (except the door, of course). I have not tracked energy used, but I do feel it makes a difference. I cut the leftover material into strips which I hung, overlapping, inside the door and that, too, makes a difference. Working out there on a sunny but cold day, I can leave the sliding door open and the strips do a good job of keeping the heat in while allowing me to enter and exit without having to constantly mess with the door. (Especially handy if I have my hands full.) The pool cover was about $100, but we store it away when not in use and so far have gotten 7 winters' use out of it. I also insulated the north wall and the north 1/3 of the east and west walls with 1" thick, foil faced, foam board insulation. Above, on the lower portion of the north ceiling, I place a strip of 2' wide Reflectix insulation. These materials reflect light, as well as heat, back into the greenhouse. The first winter, I learned how important it is to put a draft barrier between ground and wall. I had put in a hardware cloth barrier to keep rodents out, but neglected the draft barrier. Pulled the gravel back and improvised that first winter, but the next fall installed a proper barrier. Of course, these things need not be done all at once. The materials are quite strong so will last for years, allowing you to do it in phases, if you wish. Attaching the solar pool cover: we've trimmed it so it fits nicely over the greenhouse, tape the rear end closed and tape the front, on either side of the door, to the frame and/or polycarbonate. It is secured at the bottom on the long sides with 3 wooden strips on each side. A drawing would be best, but don't have that capability so here goes: Two are secured parallel, horizontally, to the 2x10 treated lumber base with screws, and they stay on all year. They are spaced so as to allow the third strip to be attached between them, sandwiching the pool cover beneath. This has held up well through several winters, including some storms, and is fairly easy to attach and remove.