This year, the first year, I grew Early Girl, Yellow Pear, Patio, and Husky Cherry Red in 5-gallon buckets. I harvested one ripe tomato from each of the Early Girl and the Patio plants in the last week of May and first Week of June. The Patio produced about 20-25 tomatoes, most of which were unimpressive. The Early Girl has produced and is still producing, but the taste is only somewhat better than the ones at the grocery store. The Yellow Pear and Husky Cherry are both producing ok, considering the EB, pests, beginner learning curve, limited sun, etc. The Yellow Pear is very mild. I don't mind it but I won't grow it next year because the taste isn't my favorite and it is a beast size-wise. The Husky Cherry toms are actually quite tasty, so I might grow one, but it has a hard time with EB. I have one Celebrity that I planted in early June that I haven't harvested from yet. I try to stay with small-fruited prolific varieties because of my limited sun. Next year I'll probably plant Husky Cherry and Celebrity depending on how it does. Based on some of the recommendations here I'd like to try Sun Gold or Sun Sugar. I'm also intrigued by Tumbling Tom.

Sorry I'm chiming in so late. My dad passed away 3 weeks ago just after finding out that his prostate cancer had just moved into his liver. He'd been in the hospital getting ready to start chemo, was getting better, sent home and he died the next evening with most of his family in his home. Bittersweet. I'm executrix & am very overwhelmed with all the stuff I need to do altho not very complicated. I am 58 yo and keep trying to figure out was 60 looks like. I've seen some "older looking" 60 somethings & some that look like I feel. (None of you GW'ers fit that older look!) I was born & raised in W. Michigan; then lived in and taught in Costa Rica where I met my dh. We moved to NC 29 years ago with a 1 year old son. My dh is Materials Mgr in a chemical co. My oldest is now 30 and a research chemist; 27yo dd is a bench chemist; youngest is a business major with a minor in...chemistry. I was a pioneer in homeschooling & hs'ed my own from K-12th grade. I was a hs curriculum rep for NC/SC & worked the bookfairs. (NC's is one of the top 5 in the country) I got involved in hs co-ops where I taught high school/middle school Spanish. I just "knew" it was time to quit at the end of last semester. Dh & I buy run-down houses, fix them up and rent them out. We weren't sure Social Security would be around by the time we retire--and our 401K has been having its ups & downs. Our real estate venture has done well; we were 2 blocks from a local university & rented to students until the U decided to make a 1-mile rule that students had to live farther than 1 mile off campus. Last fall we sold 2 to the U & made a handy profit. In this venture, I've redone 2 gut job kitchens, done some simple remodeling with painting & new counters & selvaging cabinets we found in the basement. All get dishwashers--it's the first thing the women(and students) notice. There is another one that we have done a partial remodel on--the base cabinets. Between the next renters we'll go to Part B, taking out a huge unused chimney that's on a non-supporting wall & redoing the uppers for this house from the 1920's with a chopped up-floor plan. Actually, I thought we would be building our retirement house right now. In 96 we bought a lot in the NC mountains; it's a 1/2 acre lot that overlooks a small lake in an older gated community. It's my "Still Waters", where I go to restore my soul. We were close to having the plan done & working on the kitchen plan when I discovered GW--the plan I originally wanted wouldn't work when we actually put it on paper & looked at it 3D--not enough upper cabs. I was about ready to post it for comments, but alas, with my dad's hospitalizations, I've not had the time. We're close to blueprints & I'm tweaking the rest of the design with an interior decorator friend. Worth the $$$. At my own home, a 70's ranch, we'll update the kitchen that we remodeled in 92 from a country look w/honey oak cabinets with granite & a new backsplash. We put in wood floors 4 years ago. So I don't know what project comes first. We've just completed our biggest fixer ever and the renter comes in next weekend. What will we ever do with all that spare time? We have a severely leaky shower in the master bath--we think we'll need to gut it to fix it. I think it will be sooner rather than later. I like camping, Bible study, travel, photography & scrapbooking. I enjoy going to crops & doing my scrapbooks with other women--it's creative, and for the most part I get to relive all those wonderful experiences I have captured on camera. I've read everyone's storied and have found it enjoyable. This board relaxes me in the evenings. Thanks all.

It is difficult to provide plant suggestions without knowing where you are, the growing zone and the orientation of your yard (Is it facing south, north etc)? Looking at the first photo a couple things pop out 1. It appears that your sidewalk may be cross sloping (draining) towards the garage? In addition, your downspout is falling directly beside the garage foundation. If you do consider redoing your front path as Yardvaark has shown, I would consider addressing the drainage and extending it under the sidewalk, away from the foundation. This would also help prevent ice build up on that corner (based on the existing plants, you look like like you might be in a zone with some winter). 2. The current shrubs seem wonky because they are the wrong size for the space. When choosing plants, make sure you space them for their mature size not the nursery pot size. You can see that the front bed was planned too narrow to accommodate the mature size of the shrubs, requiring additional pruning to keep them in the plant bed space. I imagine mowing the lawn right beside these shrubs is also annoying due to inadequate bed size. 3. In general, your front plant bed is out of scale with the size of your house and yard. To feel in proportion consider extending the planting bed out significantly. A general rule of thumb is to look at a space and divide the space into thirds. If you look at the height of the house and bring the front bed out either 1/3 or 2/3 of that height, it will have a stronger relationship to the house, then you can look at plant massing, colour and texture for unity. 4. If you plan on keeping the front tap and hose their, make sure that you can still easily access it with the new plants (again think mature spread). Last consideration for the moment, ensure that there are no utilities running under your lawn if you are going to dig it up. Have fun!

"I feel real now walking like a woman and talking like a stone age man... I feel real like a man like a woman like a woman like a man..."