Thanks Konrad. We did quite a bit of hardscaping, and will be doing a little bit more with the patio cover, arbors and the fountain. But, it will be very pretty when it's done, and we'll have a peaceful place to take a nap and for company to spread out. The orchard you see in the background behind our property is a lovely older Valencia orange orchard that sadly has been abandoned. It has been in the family for 2 generations, possibly 3, and the cost of water in S. California has put them out of business. It just breaks my heart. The oranges are the sweetest Valencia oranges I've ever had, and they make the most delicious juice. Patty S.

Well, thank you for your kind words. I am very blessed to have a lovely, lovely piece of property in a wonderful neighborhood with a perfect climate. We pinch ourselves every day that we are so fortunate. As far as intensively planting fruit trees - depends on the type of tree. With stone fruits, you can get away with one-hole planting if you're a good pruner. Not so much with citrus. They need their own "space", even if it's tight. If you're considering intensive planting with citrus, I would strongly recommend truly dwarfing rootstocks ('Flying Dragon' if you can find it, or at the least, Cuban Shaddock, which is what Four Winds puts most of their trees on). Boy, it is really hard to limit my trees to just the 5 favorites. Here is the list of what I really, really love in my yard, not in any top to bottom order: Seedless Kishu Mandarin Ponkan Mandarin California Honey Mandarin Page Mandarin (nothing beats it for juice) Moro Orange Tarocco Orange Wekiwa Tangelolo Valentine Pommelo hybrid Cocktail Pommelo hybrid Melogold/Oroblanco grapefruit hybrid Jan Boyce Avocado Reed Avocado Comice Pear Seckel Pear Any of my 3 different Fuji apples (Fuji, Red Fuji, Myra Fuji) Spice Zee Necatplum Artic Star Necatrine Royal Lee Cherry Any of my flat peento peaches (several varieties) Ronde de Bordeaux fig Panache fig Just to name a few :-) I would strongly urge you to join your local CRFG Chapter. Find out who is your real fruit tree guru in your chapter. See if you can find someone in the chapter that has done what you want to do. It really, really helps to have someone to pattern after, and have as a sounding board. You should have a fairly active chapter up in SF. In fact, there are some rather famous citrus hobbyist growers up in N. California that you might want to make sure you visit, if your CRFG chapter has any tours set up. You will find membership extremely helpful in what you're trying to accomplish. Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: California Rare Fruit Growers

Thanks gardenerme and jenn :-) Yes, Vista is a really great climate, very temperate, and for the most part we just miss the the marine layer since we're up at about 900 ft. elevation (up in the hills). And yes, the cherries will most certainly produce! They are fairly new low-chill varieties from Dave Wilson Nursery that were specifically developed for our area. If you search the Fruit & Orchard Forum, I think there's a thread that provides a report on them from the coastal S. California area that was a "two thumb's up". They are Minnie Royal and Royal Lee. They cross pollinate each other. I'm really excited about them, actually, and they are VERY happy in my climate. Pretty pleased! I'll continue to take photos as the trees mature, and we get the rest of the things completed. Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: DWN: Cherries

christine--right! fat 'n' sassy. that's it. thanks--they're such great peppers. did you ever transplant the flexum seedling? mine has just kicked into production. really interesting plant--compact and highly ornamental with its white peppers. melissa--thirty cubic yards of mulch...moved! it was really too much mulch, but i won't have to spread mulch for a LONG time. thanks, everyone, for the looking + the compliments.