Vegetables Growing In The Yard

I have some plants that I planted a few months ago that are doing very well.  I planted some vegetables this year that I knew the kids would eat and enjoy.  I have had tomatoes growing in the past and they are easy to take care of, little maintenance and grow fast but the kids only like tomatoes if they are in spaghetti sauce, ketchup or mild salsa, so the idea of me planting a large bounty of tomatoes isn't going to be fruitful for them.

This planter has (right to left) birdhouse gourds (I thought it would be neat to grow, dry out and do some art with them), crocked-neck squash, sweet peas, artichoke (this will be huge when full-grown), and another squash-family plant but I can't remember what it is. I think it is pumpkins or watermelon.  We have flowers on it but no vegetable at all.  On the very left, not really showing, is night-blooming jasmine (it has been in the planter a few years).

 I wanted to 'fill' the planter with plants so that it was all green and pretty and have little dirt showing.  Once the cold weather hits most of them will die but the artichoke should be fine.

 This sink is a project I've wanted to do for a while but been slacking at.  I want to get 3-4 bricks and put them around the bottom of the sink.  This will make it surdy yet have it where the hole in the middle will drain out.  Right now, just setting it down on the ground, I think the water will back up from the dirt below the planter, and the plant or dirt will get soggy.  So, after I get the bricks, I will fill it with dirt and put something in it.  I think flowers would be pretty but I also heard that this is a great way to plant potatoes so that they are easily harvested.