Re: totally unrelated to earlier, but even more improtant! about plants!

Hi Katie! Congratulations! What a wonderful opportunity for you! First of all I'd like to share a wesite with you:

http://www.communitygreens.org/ExistingGreens/villagehomes/villagehomes.htm

I just found out about this place and I think that it would well be worth your time to take a trip up there to see some real examples of edible landscaping.

The first thing is plan, plan, plan...Think with your head, not with your feet(&back! :)). Consider the path of the sun when designing your plantings. Make sure that your vegetable garden will recieve full sun. Consider the eventual height & spread of the trees.

There are a lot of excellent resources out there for you..

"Rodale's illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening & Landscaping techniques" is a GREAT guide to start off with. It'll tell you everything you need to know about planning, composting, soil needs, planting etc. I LOVE the web, but I also need to have books to refer to & this is a good one.

A great book for YOU is "Sunset's Western Garden Book". It divides the west into microclimates, plants specifically for your region.

Another great book is "Designing & Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally" a little more advanced, I haven't really gotten into it yet, but I know already that it will become my prime reference.

Now some specifics. You need to research the varieties of trees that you buy. Trees can be self pollinating but a lot of them are not. A lot of cherries are not. So you will need a pollinator. There is a chart somewhere online that shows which varieties can pollinate each other. I believe that it is on Raintree Nursery's website. Research is VERY important here! The needs of the trees must be considered. What is the use of a beautiful cherry tree if it cannot bear fruit?

There's some stuff to get you thinking... :D



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