Tomatoes have a face only a mother could love. I have not been able to find any way to make them attractive.

Last year I planted them in front of my cannas, EEs, and bananas. As you can see in the picture, the bed is such a jungle that hardly anyone noticed that there were tomatoes and eggplant in the front.

I'm afraid that the tomatoes might not like being smothered by the morning glory - I think they will want as much sun as they can get.

This is the main reason why I started my potager. Rather than trying to hide the veggie patch as I had been doing I decided to bring it right into the spotlight. I'm thinking that by doing that all of the plants might look a little better.

I still don't think there is a way to make rows of corn look attractive though :-)

You could try surrounding your tomatoes with marigolds - they are supposed to be benificial to tomatoes anyway. Mine are surrounded by various wildflowers this year.

Are we talking about Indeterminate (climbing) or determinate (bush) varieties? I only grow indeterminates in the potager - the only determinate variety I grow is roma tomatoes, and those are relegated to another space outside the potager proper. Most of the best varieties are indeterminates, so most of them are suited to the potager.

That doesn't necessarily make them any easier to beautify, however. I've tried umpteen different methods of supporting climbing tomatoes and haven't found a single one that is both attractive and easy to maintain. I suppose the most visually appealing structure I've come up with, however, is natural wood. A few years ago, I thinned out a bunch of saplings on the property and saved them for tomato supports. They are relatively straight, and cut to approximately 8' tall. I also cut off all side branches.

In short, the method is to bury the butt end of the stakes approximately 2' in the ground, leaving about 6' above ground for the tomato to climb. Each tomato plant gets a stake. As the plant grows, strap it to the stake with twine or cut up pieces of pantyhose (DW always laughs when I ask her if I can have an old pair of her pantyhose!). There are several schools of thought as to what to do with the suckers that will grow at each leaf juncture. Some people remove all suckers, some remove none. Personally, I remove all suckers within 18" of the ground, and then do my best to strap the remaining suckers to the stake along with the central leader. The grow fast, so I have to tend to them every few days in late spring and early summer, but it's relaxing work.

-Diggity

I must be weird or something. I find a healthy, loaded with blooms and/or fruit tomato a thing of utter beauty! Throw a few marigolds, basil or nasturtium plants at the base of it and all I can think is WOW, life doesn't get much prettier than that! but again, like I said, I must be alittle off:)

Michelle

Oh, I'm with you, Michelle!

I have found the way to grow "neater" tomatoes is to mark out a 4 foot square, then put in 5 posts (about 5 feet tall), one in the middle the others at the corners. Next, lay diagonal bars through the middle (forming a cross) and then wrap diagonal bars around the outside to hold the cross bars steady. You will need at least 3 to 4 layers of the cross bars to make the frame sturdy . You can then plant 4 tomatoes and if you pinch your tomatos tops they will fill in the squares nicely without flopping into other plants. Metal posts and rebar is the sturdiest, but wood or bamboo is prettier and will last through the season. FYI-Pinching the tops will decrease your harvest a bit. hope that helps!

If you have a fence around your potager, plant tomatoes against the fence, intermingled with tall and short flowers. Pinch out the tips of your plants to keep them bushy and more compact. Sunflowers & tomatoes are very compatable, and tomatoes thrive growing next to them. Plant some on the outside of the fence behind the tomatoes. If you are one of those who also 'Cottage Gardens', this will also help tie the two gardens.

Hollyhocks can also be used or together with sunflowers. Calendula (Pot Marigold) is very beneficial in the veggie garden and is a great companion plant w/tomatoes. Make sure you give your tomatoes their 3 ft. planting space or they will eventually engulf the Calendulas.

I grow a lot of tomatoes to eat fresh and to can for later use. I also make my own fresh Pico de guyo, and can my own Picante salsas and my homemade spaghetti sauces, & etc, to enjoy all winter, so I need a lot of tomato plants for that. I always grow a few 'specialty tomatoes' and try a new heirloom tomato or three every year and these I mingle in with the flowers, anywhere I can poke them, including growing them in containers. Juliets, Sweet 100s or other grape-types are the best for mingling, but pastes are good too.

I grew Juliets up onto an arch with morningglories 2 years back. Hung the hummingbird feeder there. It was pretty and easy to pick the tomatoes. I had to train the vines up onto the arch, and tie them, but it wasn't difficult to do, even for someone cursed with debilitating arthritis as am I.

Cardinal vine would look lovely mixed in with Heavenly Blue morningglories. I've grown them together before, or in contrast plant bright yellow Canary Vine. Purple Hyacinth Bean would be pretty too or even the edible Scarlet Runner Bean. Baby's Breath would add an airy look to your potager, and soften the look. Maybe a few tall zinnias here and there amongst them. One year I planted Moon Flowers and cucumbers on the arch and tomatoes at the base on the outside. It was gorgeous.
Yuccas can be planted near an arch for interest and texture. Yuccas, grasses, and succulents of all kinds by the dozens are big in the English and French gardens too. So, skies the limit in creating your own potager.

Don't limit arches to entrances only. They can be placed anywhere in the potager as a focal point, and under it in the shade would be a great place to set your birdbath so the water stays cool. Unless you are blessed with living in an area with mild temperatures, like the British Isles or Washington state, birdbaths are not good set out in the full sun. The water gets hot fast and algae forms.

Hope these are some ideas that help w/your tomato problem.

~ SweetAnnie4u

Thanks Annie,
You have given me a lot of great ideas.