share ideas for http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/design/msg1214085821098.html?3 I guess you are zone 6. "too ambitious"-----I like,dont worry small space,can plant trees small or big,can control tree grow scale by dirt thin rate.dont worry budget,garden plant is so slowly.we only do some every year,but enjoy our design goal. src="http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk80/landscapedesignchina/100_431011.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> src="http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk80/landscapedesignchina/100_431010.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> src="http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk80/landscapedesignchina/100_43109.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> src="http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk80/landscapedesignchina/100_43108.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> other ideas RE: Help with landscaping SMALL backyard Posted by: ideasshare (My Page) on Sat, Dec 13, 08 at 6:01 share ideas for http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/design/msg1214085821098.html?3 I guess you are zone 6. "too ambitious"-----I like,dont worry small space,can plant trees small or big,can control tree grow scale by dirt thin rate.dont worry budget,garden plant is so slowly.we only do some every year,but enjoy our design goal. here link is other ideas: groups.myspace.com/gardenideas RE: Help with landscaping SMALL backyard Posted by: karinl BC Z8 (My Page) on Sat, Dec 13, 08 at 12:56 No reason at all why you couldn't make a nice little ornamental garden here, whether dwarf conifers (head over to the conifers forum for a wealth of photos of plants and gardens) or the less groomed but also attractive perennial/deciduous garden. Almost incredibly, Ideasshare has actually visualized some options for opening up your design options, in particular changing the shape of the pathway. But you don't have to go to those lengths to make the space attractive. I do think I would incorporate some hardscape to give it form; maybe also a meandering path through it - unbroken, even one side is a big space for all garden. I'm still not quite getting a sense of whether you have a slope here or whether the space is flat. If sloped, terracing would be nice but you don't see the walls from above. Nonetheless, it breaks the space up and makes it nice to be in. This being a back yard, are there any functional issues need to be addressed. like a compost, or do you want some privacy? Those should be laid out in advance. I do love those glass balls (I got some in Germany when they were all the rage there) - they have to stay!! :-) KarinL Here is a link that might be useful: One conifer garden thread RE: Help with landscaping SMALL backyard Posted by: nhbabs z4b-5a NH (My Page) on Fri, Dec 19, 08 at 10:58 It sounds like you might want to spend time thinking about how you want to use the space and what you want out of it as well as how you want it to look. Veggies? Lawn? Sitting or dining area? Main entry way to get in & outside when entering & leaving the house? Play area for kids or animals? Privacy from neighbors or city noise? Also, how much work do you want to do? Would you be willing to redo the walkway or the patio? Are you willing to build raised beds or hire someone to do work for you? Because your question is so open-ended, you may not get too many responses. I find that looking at pictures really helps me visualize possibilities in a way I can't when simply looking at what I'm starting with. Here is a link to one designer's portfolio who has done many small urban spaces that seem to be used as outdoor sitting/dining areas. He also has written several books that are well illustrated. He's just one of many designers whose work you can look at to see what you like and to imagine if that type of design would work for how you want to use the space. Your local public library can be a great resource for garden design books as they not only have their own collections, but also probably do an interlibrary loan service that would give you access to other library's collections. Here is a link that might be useful: Keith Davitt design portfolio RE: Help with landscaping SMALL backyard Posted by: bjcoop 5-6 (My Page) on Mon, Dec 29, 08 at 10:34 Wow! With the Holidays, I havent had a chance to check back here. WOW Ideashare. You are a magician with the photos! Lots of ideas here. Never thought of changing the shape of the bricks. Also the idea of how best to enjoy and use the backyard is important. It does need to be low maintenance. It does need to be playspace (and other) for our minpin. Will study all of these ideas. One thing, I plan to keep the gazing balls. Our minpin is stupified by them. (: (: RE: Help with landscaping SMALL backyard Posted by: ideasshare (My Page) on Tue, Dec 30, 08 at 8:27 It does need to be low maintenance------is good idea. Shrubs in general tend to be less maintenance than perennials for many of the reasons,no need for deadheading, dividing, staking, cutting back or cleaning up seasonally and typically require less watering once established due to wider, more extensive root systems. But to decrease maintenance even further, select those shrubs which are recognized as being fully hardy and well suited to climate and growing conditions, drought tolerant (once established), disease and pest resistant and not requiring excessive pruning to maintain health or size. Check with local extension office for their recommendations and visit some of better local retail nurseries in season for ideas. And I wouldn't necessarily want to eliminate ALL herbaceous perennials - some are quite a bit less maintenance than others. A mixed border that includes a variety of shrubs, perennials, grasses, groundcovers and even a few small trees generally will provide year long interest and color with relatively low maintenance. Here is a link that might be useful: share other some ideas RE: Help with landscaping SMALL backyard Posted by: karinl BC Z8 (My Page) on Wed, Dec 31, 08 at 14:57 Just to clarify -Ideasshare is apparently a Chinese forum participant who doesn't have much idea of North American culture or norms but is doing his/her best o join in here with photo manipulation. The results are bizarre but (as in this case) occasionally useful. Unfortunately, s/he has just branched out into giving written advice, which seems to be simply a compilation of plagiarized phrases that s/he probably doesn't even quite know the meaning of - not specifically thought out suggestions for you. Not that it isn't good info, but take it for what it is. KarinL Post a Follow-Up Your Name: Your Email Address: Zone (optional): Subject of Posting: Message: Optional Link URL: Name of the Link: Return to the Landscape Design Forum

Hi RusticBohemian- First let me say, I applaud your spirit and enthusiasm. I think its a great idea, but I think you really want to listen to the posts above. That isnÂt to say you shouldnÂt do it. I just think you need to modify you plan just a bit with more emphasis on low maintenance fruits and a long term maintenance care plan. Like others have said, for the most part, most of these plants are not simply "Plant and pick". ItÂs more of an augment soil, plant, nurture, water, fertilize, spray, water, prune, thin, more TLC, spray, spray, pick. That said, there are certainly plants that are easy to care for than others. As HarvestMan said, certainly raspberries would be a good choice. I think mine are mostly care-free, except for the mowing down (the easiest thing to do) in the winter, and adding of compost in the spring. (maybe you could even do that all at once?) If you set them up with good containment in the beginning (so they donÂt spread to where you donÂt want them to be I think this could be about as close to plant and pick as you could get. Though I may have to disagree (gasp) with HarvestMan on one point There are better varieties out there than Heritage these days, and you can search this forum for more info on those. Thornless blackberries would be another candidate. Like my raspberries, mine have been pretty much disease free, and for the most part, the birds stay away. The issue here is that normally youÂd want a really solid trellis here. But, in your case, you might want to go with the less productive free standing varieties. Again, youÂre going to want to prune out the old canes in the spring, and give them some compost. Possibly some blueberries? The issue here is you have to do netting to keep the birds away. HereÂs a case where you would probably want to amend the soil first to get your PH down. Mullberries would be another good candidate. Apples eh? Like the others have said, these guys are going to be a LOT more work here. At the very least, you should consider only disease resistant varieties. And, in your case, IÂd recommend only the most DR ones. Even with that, youÂre still going to need a solid spraying plan. I doubt bagging the apples would be an option here as they would attract a lot of attention and perhaps people would see them as litter? Apples may be a bit beyond your plan. Another concern I have is water. You are going to need to water these plants pretty often. Do you have a plan get water to these sites? IÂm picturing a level-site, which wonÂt have much shade, and these many plants could suck up a lot of water. I really hope your project succeeds. Just make sure you put in all the logistics before hand to make sure it does. If you havenÂt done any home orcharding before, IÂd be prepared to spend the next many months and years determining the right (low maintenance, hearty, disease resistant) varieties for your idea. Like others have said definitely start small if at all possible. YouÂll learn so much, and it will change the way proceed. Good luck! This is a very big undertaking. -Glenn

I think figs and pomegranates are normally rooted (not grafted), so there wouldn't be any separate rootstock with them. Pawpaws and jujubes would normally be grafted, but I don't think there are any rootstock choices for them either (just their respective seedlings). There are rootstock options with persimmons, but I've never heard of any of them having any more of a dwarfing effect than another. Some varieties of persimmons are smaller than others, though. The majority of the Asian persimmon varieties available in the US would be dwarf size no matter what the rootstock. Apples and pears would be the only things you mentioned where dwarfing rootstocks would come into play. You may, however, want to choose better anchored more disease-resistant rootstocks and rely on more aggressive (esp. summer) pruning to keep your trees to a size your space will allow. I know very little about pear and apple rootstock differences, so I can't make any particular recommendations for you.

@jean001 Thanks! As for the cherry tree, there has not been any hail but we have had crazy rain for the past month and we always seem to get a ton of wind. Regarding the golden delicious, I have anchored the branches down but none of snapped or what not. They are very flimsy almost whisp-like.