My 2 cents, First, I agree that it's best to start out slow. 2) remember different trees will grow to different heights and so how you group them will make a difference. Don't assume one standard spacing will work for all trees. It won't. A good nurseryman will be able to tell you the height and width of the mature tree on the root stock you are getting. Be sure you find a GOOD nurseryman, not one who is guessing. and it is WELL worth the extra few dollars to buy from a good nursery, not Home Depo unless you are sure the variety is exactly the same, including the root stock. 3) I love Dave Willson trees BUT I do NOT like the idea of planting 2 or 3 trees in one hole. If you have very limited space and you can only fit 3 trees in your whole yard, it is a tolerable way to squeeze in more than one, but I don't like it when you have the room for more. 4) mulch! I use a little manure the first year to kick start the tree and help the soil. But after the first year, mulch is all you need. Mulch Mulch Mulch. Now for varieties and what to plant, consider this. You live in an area where you can grow a great many things that will not grow in to many places in the world. Consider growing the things that 1) are never really good tasting in the store or 2) the more exotic things you can not buy or 3) are ridiculously expensive to get good quality. For me, in the first category is a good peach. There is NOTHING that can compare to a peach you just picked at the peak of perfection off your own tree, sweet, juice running down to your knuckles. OHHH MY! I also use a lot of lemon so I would not want to be without a good Lisbon and a good Meyer. But then comes the hard choice. Do I really want to take up space with an orange? or do I want to grow something that I can't really get in the store. That is where the CA Rare Fruit growers is awesome. As mentioned above, they can help you choose some amazing fruit that will do well in your yard. Loquat, leachee, passion fruit... the list goes on depending on what YOU like. and every fruit has it's own characteristics. Oranges and most citrus do well off the tree so they ship well and the stores have good quality. Burgandy oranges are hard to find though, so some specialty citrus may find a place. Pears actually require picking early and cool or cold storage to reach peak quality so again, the stores can have good quality. But something like a peach is not as good picked green and shipped, so peaches move up my list, as do all the stone fruit (plums, apricots and so on) It is just pathetic what they call an apple in the store, but apples will require a lot of spraying and you may not want to do that. So, when you open the nursery catalogs, and everything looks good, remember some of the other reasons for making a choice. happy growing! Arthur

I'd be glad to help. I have been growing citrus for 15 years, (45 years if you include all the years I pampered the 10 trees in my parents yard in LA growing up), have 40 different varieties, and over 100 trees here at my place. I'm in LA on Wednesdays and Thursdays for Farmers Markets where I sell my dates and other fruit in season. Arthur softmentor@aol.com

I just found your blog while doing my initial research on pool builder (found it in your Yelp review). I loved reading about your experience and seeing the pics along the way! Thank you so much for the wonderful insight. I have to say that your pool installation has made me so excited to pull the trigger on our own, and now when I need a break at work, I go to your blog -- my new "Happy Place".

thanks...I've seen Cheng's website which help convince me to use concrete...I registered on gardenweb a few months ago, but just started using the site...I'm really sorry I didn't realize how much helpful info there is when I started my remodel 3 years ago!..I see a lot about granite and soapstone but not much about concrete....is concrete considered passe?