You didn't mention how many people you are feeding or if you plan to do food preservation. For two people, I think two 25 foot rows of beans may be too much (I plant one yellow, one green) if 2 people are just eating fresh. I think beets are low maintenance. You can enjoy thinnings as green and harvest the beets from small to large. I also think a variety of broccoli that makes side shoots might also be considered low maintenance. I think I might even include swiss chard on the list. I agree with corn, potatoes, winter squash and peppers. We anticipate our pepper crop with joy, frugally harvesting when they get just big enough and crossing our fingers for a nice crop of sweet red peppers. I grow a variety of heirlooms. My list might be biased toward rainy New England summers. Except for seeding, I don't think I've needed to water much. I also started my big beds as lasagna beds topped in the spring with nicely aged compost. If it weren't for the nasty creeping jenny and witch grass reaching into the garden from the field, I wouldn't have much weeding to do. Last year I planted carrots in the row of sugar snap peas. By the time the peas were done, the carrots had a good start. I might not have gotten great germination because of planting like that but I didn't have to do any thinning.

I would tear it all out and put in Lantana. Although every year it needs to be cut back some otherwise it will get leggy. I have seen it in purple and yellow. Lantana can get 18 inches high though. Nurserys have it in flats in spring you'll need about 5 and likes full sun. You might still find it in 1 gal containers but that will cost you a lot more.

Have you considered planting a few trees to help shade the house? I have three on the east side of my house to keep the sun off of the roof until about 11am. I wish I could plant some on the other side, but the fenceline is too close. How much room do you have around the deck? How wide can the shrubs get? I wouldn't worry at all about bees. Bees that are collecting nectar are single-minded and rarely take time to sting unless you grab them. Most shrubs don't bloom for more that a few weeks a year- so it's not a huge issue. The classic hard-to-kill shrub is the wax-leaf privet. It gets flowers for a short period of time in the spring, but most people prune them so they never flower. One of mine is very old and is now a small tree about twelve feet tall. I have others that screen off the neighbors. They are deep green, drought tolerant, insect and disease resistant, and can take the heat. Another nice shrub is rhaphiolepis or Indian Hawthorne. They flower in different colors of pink or white. They get wide rather than tall, although you can buy them as small trees. Renee

L, Sansevierias are an excellent recommendation & come in many different varieties, including cylindrica. Gooseneck wand watering is another excellent idea! I have to share my first thought, which was Chinese Evergreen ... very low light, very low maintenance plants that keep their variegation regardless of poor lighting. LL