Wow....would I (and, I imagine, countless others) love to have something like that. No, I don't heat my greenhouse except for a 25 W boat heater that is suspended on the rims of the pots containing papayas--and only when the temps go below 40F. I have a very small PVC greenhouse, covered with 6 mil plastic and an added layer of bubble wrap, so it's nothing fantastic. Nonetheless, at least those two varieties of tomato have worked for me. I've grown some cucumbers as well but found them problematic for disease reasons. This spring I am trying Minnesota Midget cantaloupes (that summer fog.....) and they are doing well so far, but they require...ah...help in the reproduction department. Still, have a few small melons set already. Anyway, that is a great space. If inclined you could probably grow all kinds of things (think pineapples!).

I occassionally have this issue because we have a lot of humidity and it affects all my plants, not just tomatoes, like you. I regularly use fungicide until I start seeing fruit on my plants and then I regularly spray a milk/water mixture (concentration 1:1) on my entire garden. nothing can "cure" it, but I've been told the milk keeps the spores from affecting the unaffected leaves. Basically the point is to just control it so that my plants can grow ahead of it....if that makes sense. I also discovered I have a calcium deficiency in my garden so I make sure to add eggs to my compost and I add bone meal at the time of planting.....after starting to do that a couple of years ago, the healthier plants can help keep the spores at bay.....I can't move my garden and can only do so much rotation, so I have resigned myself to accept that humidity is going to be my worst friend....but at least the last couple of years my garden has been producing well and I don't get frustrated with all the hard work and nothing to show for it.

Check out the Home Decorating Forum. This forum is mainly about noisy neighbors or difficult landlords.

harold100, thanks for your feedback - you're right, those bushes were hideous! When you suggest I move the taller plants and put in low plants, do you mean like sunflower tall, or anything over creeping phlox tall? I have a few low plants like some dwarf salvias, creeping jenny, and silver mound artemisia, but if I were moving all the tall plants from the road, I'd have to basically dig and amend another 60 foot bed closer to the house, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that much change, lol. I definitely plan to deal with the moss, but will probably hire someone to take care of it because I am afraid to get moisture under my shingles with a power washer, and I don't own a ladder that tall. I will try garden art to distract from the sign, thanks! I have this armillary sphere from the Philly flower show in my side garden - is that similar to what you were picturing? Ken, thanks so very much! I truly appreciate the encouragement - I am so often inspired by thinking about your responses on this forum to experiment and try things with my plants. For example, I was waffling over foxgloves and couldn't decide whether to winter sow, direct seed, buy small plants, or get larger plants and let them reseed - and then I remembered all the times you have advised someone to try them all and see what works, so I did, lol. I agree that "free" is one of my favorite garden words (right up there with "clearance" and "end of season sale") so I have enjoyed learning ways to make my plantings grow by saving seeds and dividing. I am on the corner of a cul-de-sac of three houses, but I have been careful to keep the sightlines clear, and have my daughter check in her shorter car, too. There is a drainage culvert that runs along the main street (which is to the right of the picture) that gives an extra 6 feet of view before you turn from the cul-de-sac to the street, so that helps, and I haven't planted anything along that side curve. I will try to keep building confidence in my garden decisions, but I'm sure I will kill those required plants along the way. Honestly, I have probably killed enough lupines to qualify there alone! lisanti07028, thank you for the compliment and the good advice! I definitely have to work on my spacing, although I want it close enough to flow together and choke out weeds. It's a tough balance between tightly planted and plants devouring each other! I look at my puny little first year ostrich ferns with their 6 fronds and think, oh, they're so small - but then I make myself look at the ones I planted last year that are arching over the caladium and merging with the oakleaf hydrangea and say, "patience, Jenn!" NHBabs, great advice! I didn't think about the idea of letting the front border be flat for winter, but bulking up the evergreen presence in the foundation area. That makes lots of sense, because it gives that pretty blanket of snow up to the green by the house look. And then spring brings it back to life. I did pick up a red twig dogwood which is near the lamp post, although currently hidden by dahlias and the summer perennials. I'm not sure what I want to do about the garage - I'm really not sure I can plant anything there. The arborists ground the stump of the huge cherry tree that used to be there, but the roots are still everywhere, and the soil is like concrete. The reason people tend to use it as a path is the overhang - my kids got used to using it as a shortcut to the car in the rain. Currently, there's an 8 foot mulch bed there, and I was kind of wondering about a narrow raised bed with paver stones or maybe a big huge planter with a trellis for a clematis (I have this sweet autumn clematis in a pot I haven't found a good spot for yet...) I am excited to research your specific plant suggestions for winter and early spring interest. I do have iris and crocus and scilla and snowdrops and hellebores, but they are all in the backyard. I take too many photos, so I will definitely go back and look through and see where seasonal interest is lacking. For example, it's much less interesting in very early spring... And in winter, there's basically nothing. Again, thanks all! Off to research plants with berries, evergreens, and flowering evergreen groundcovers. (There are flowering evergreen groundcovers?!?!)