The spaces once filled with lettuce and cabbage are now dry and bare. We'd like to fill them but we're not sure what to plant. It needs to be something pretty (because it's the front yard), short (because it's the sun facing side of the bed) and different (not something we already have planted). Any suggestions? The space also eliminates all climbers (no cukes, beans, zucchini, etc).

The four varieties of tomatoes squeezed along the side of the house are still doing great. I brought a vine of three ripe Phoenix hybrids to my Mom in Chicago last Friday. The Beefsteaks are growing fast so we've tied them up individually to prevent their vines from snapping under their own weight. Our heirloom is a predictable gangly mess: the tallest of the bunch with a wild tangle of branches and leaves. (I'm hoping this will also make it the tastiest.) And finally, "Black Prince", he's a late bloomer but still has a half a dozen, vibrant green tomatoes.