@fiesty76 My specialty in Seattle was hanging baskets and a finely trimmed lawn with absolutely no weeds. The last year we won we had seventeen baskets. I will say it took a lot of time. As for raising tomatoes, there was a large vacant strip of land that ran parallel to a creek and I would plant 350 plants every year. The best variety for resale were Jet Star although I threw in a few Better Boys and Big Boys along with a beefsteak or two. Harvest began in mid July through the end of August. A good plant will produce about a pound to 1.5 lbs a night so I was busy picking and sorting 400+ pounds every evening at peak season. We had old screens and saw horses for the picked tomatoes. People would come and pick tomatoes from the screens and weigh them and pay on an honor system. I took the better looking tomatoes to grocery stores and the rougher ones to restaurants.

I currently reside near Tucson, AZ and my garden focuses on lantana as a very colorful perennial along with a few pots with flowers that rotate throughout the year. No yard of the year award in the future but I find such things to be less important to me nowadays.

Best always,
s!
Scott Jensen