wow.. where is this.. it flashed me back to visiting busia in detroit in the 60's ... its a war zone now... i dont know why i ever went back to look ... anyway.. apparently i digress ... no tree really magically stops growing at some preferred height. .. its all about how long to get there.. and how far past ... i would not put a tree next to the garage.. there just isnt space for anything greater than 6 feet ... with a foot to spare on each side .... i would go with a tree dead center in the bigger plot ... and some shrubs down by the garage .... there is a variegated norway maple ... that has remained rather small for me .... but it might not let you garden under it in 20 years .... i know others have many good suggestions.. i just wanted to chime in an thank you for the memory flash ... to simpler times.. take care ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Most of the common veggies that have short seasons need all the direct sunlight they can get. Perhaps you could build a greenhouse and grow something in the winter when the trees have dropped leaves? Strawberries would likely never get enough sun to fruit even if they got enough to grow. Maybe currants or some type of berry bush that comes from a natural habitat of dappled sun/shade. I would be wary of growing roses if the ground is truly always moist. They hate to have wet feet and may die of root or crown rot. Have you considered having a certified, well-experienced tree trimmer come in and selectively thin branches to open up the canopy?

Thanks Kay, yes with the temps we have been having it may be earlier than usual . The poor alliums have not even lasted a week and they are pretty much done . The iris however are late . Everything is all screwed up here this year . We have had such extremes of weather the gardens dont know if they are coming or going . Right now we are extremely dry ......like the last 2 years , the drought started in May and continued through to October. I was hoping that would not be the case this year but so far it is not looking good.

No, it couldn't. It’s a Tilia. What do you mean by buds? It had buds all winter which opened to produce those leaves. You can just about see next year’s buds beginning to form in the leaf axils. Did you mean flowers? If so they bloom when they’re mature enough to do so and if they have good growing conditions. This one seems to be in rather a shaded situation. Personally I’ve only seen them bloom in open situations and at a larger size.