Wow, Anne. I got to check out Dorothy Perkins, a fantastic once-bloomer that occasionally has a tiny bit of rebloom and is zone appropriate 4b and upward. The once-bloomer Turner's Crimson was also very lively. These must be great weepers/standards, I love their photos on HMF. Unfortunately I didn't know at the time that my hybrid tea tree roses I chose were actually zone 7b and they had fragile genes as well. But the great thing was that they bloomed like crazy no matter the condition of their foliage. I think the major difference is that the Burlington tree roses spend the winter in the greenhouse where there is light and warmth and can be carried back & forth. Mine stayed in the dungeon of my garage with no light and they were not carried back and forth if we ever got a warmer break in the weather. Not that this would have helped that much because our winter remained record-breaking cold anyway. But even a little bit of light and fresh air in February through March might have helped the tree roses a lot! Instead I waited until it was "safe" to bring them out. But I also think that non-stop rains are detrimental to my tree roses. The canker always starts right at the bud-union and spreads upwards on the stem or simultaneously down to the bud union and it always occurs when we get slammed with flooding rainstorms. This drives me crazy! If the canker had started on the upper portion of the stems, it would be a piece of cake to solve (you can easily prune and cut). But invading the bud union from the get-go is absolutely maddening! Next year when I restart my tree roses I will definitely carry them in and out of the garage more frequently and I will also start my severe pruning in winter instead of waiting until Spring. Veilchen, I checked David Austin's tree roses but the only ones they had were Austins and not the Old Garden Roses. Maybe one of these days David Austin will carry them perhaps? that would be nice.

TM, thanks for the thought, it means a lot. Looks like DH will be laid up most of the summer and in to the fall. He has several issues going on right now and one surgery scheduled for 2 weeks from now. Really a struggle for him, as he feels it is his job to help me and it is hard for him to accept that there is little he can do right now with his physical limitations. Koszta kid, no veggie area to speak of here. Lost that to the driveway for the new garage. Seemed like I always gave away more than I used, so that's ok. I should be getting more done today, but somewhat sore from yesterday's marathon. So taking it a little easier today. This post was edited by mary_lu on Sun, Apr 28, 13 at 18:49

Thanks for the tip. There's a company out of Manitoba (Heritage Seed) that sounds similar, and has been the source I've been using for my main garden crop for the past several years (not for the Choc. Cherry, I got those elsewhere). The two I've been happiest with are Stupice, a Czechoslovakian heirloom rated at 50 days, and Latah, developed at the University of Idaho and also rated 50 days from transplant. Stupice is indeterminant which I like, and it gives big production so I'm growing 6 of them. The Latah are determinant and just give one early flush, but I'm growing one plant of Latah just because last year it ripened several days ahead of Stupice (late July), and every day counts around here! Of course, if I was in a warmer climate I'd choose bigger-fruited, meatier varieties, but I've been burned doing that in some years and ending up with mostly green tomatoes.

Still can't find that article but I did find inspiration photos for you. Several of them show banquettes with angled corners and round or oval tables that I think would work well in your space. I have to echo what rhome said. We're not trying to be harsh but we do see errors in your plan that we think you'll regret and, as someone already pointed out, you did ask for feedback. Even the best plans can benefit from feedback and tweaks so please don't take the advice personally. Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen & Bath Ideas: banquettes