Fruit tree advice please

[Leif]

I have a garden that is about 17m by 17m, and I have stated to tidy it up, as it was a complete mess. The following is a possible plan:



The house is at the bottom. I have dug and planted the herb bed and a bed at the side of the main path. The Wiegela (marked W) are established shrubs. I want to plant a veg bed and some trees. There are 3 lengths of pipe so I can't plant trees too close. I'd like a quince and a medlar but I think they are too tall and deep rooted. So perhaps dwarf apple and plum in the sites shown.

I assume I can't plant a veg bed next to a hedge due to roots and competition. So I shoved it at the end, where it is accessible from the path (I'll lay slabs around the beds). The end was full of weeds, and flints, so I have dug out the large flints, and dug to a depth of 18" roughly, sometimes more. The soil is clay rich, so I'm adding loads of compost.

The greenhouse is not present, but the location seems sensible.

I want to keep the main area of lawn clear. I might dig some more beds for decorative shrubs, but later on.

At the left hand border, semi shaded, I have a Cotoneaster franchetii to go between the Wiegela, and provide some privacy from the neighbours decking. Maybe a Camellia too, I have one in a pot.

Comments and ideas please. I might ignore them but I would at least like to know alternatives, and some might be much better.

[northepaul]

Quince....wonderful!! Good choice!

Is the centre section (which is green) grass? You could fit more veg beds in!! How about gooseberries too?

[orangepippin]

Where do you live? That will affect the kind of fruit trees you can grow. As it currently stands the fruit trees are not in the best place, you effectively have them on a north-east facing aspect, and they really need to be facing south-ish if possible, in full sun. Of course if you planted semi-vigorous trees they would probably clear the height of the fence and then be in full sun, but your spacings suggest (very-)dwarf trees in the top left of the diagram. The quince at top right is a bit better, on the basis that it will clear the height of the fence and nothing is shading it, quinces really need full sun.

[Leif]

Thank you for the answers.

Quince....wonderful!! Good choice!

Is the centre section (which is green) grass? You could fit more veg beds in!! How about gooseberries too?

I love quince, nice trees and huge fruits. My late mother had one. Yes, sorry, the pale green is grass. I want to keep a large area of grass clear, for now anyway. Sadly I'm not keen on gooseberries, but redcurrants may go in.

Where do you live? That will affect the kind of fruit trees you can grow. As it currently stands the fruit trees are not in the best place, you effectively have them on a north-east facing aspect, and they really need to be facing south-ish if possible, in full sun. Of course if you planted semi-vigorous trees they would probably clear the height of the fence and then be in full sun, but your spacings suggest (very-)dwarf trees in the top left of the diagram. The quince at top right is a bit better, on the basis that it will clear the height of the fence and nothing is shading it, quinces really need full sun.

I am east of Basingstoke so fairly warm, but not like the South Coast which is warmed by the sea. It is a bit windy, but the garden slopes down towards the end (top above), so the top is the most protected. Yes the fruit trees are near a fence, although I won't put them as near as shown, maybe 2 to 3m away. I have checked and they will get sun from fairly early in the morning, until early evening. I'll go out and check again, since we are now autumn. They will be dwarf trees, so 6-7 feet tall, or 8-9 feet tall, no more. I might move one down nearer the pipe.

I'm thinking of a Victoria plum, self fertile, a self fertile apple, and maybe one of the more hardy apricots, Tomcot I think, though I am not convinced that is worth trying, so maybe a second apple.

I thought full sun meant not sun all day, but sun most of the day, maybe I'm mistaken. Yes the quince should get a lot of sun. I'm tempted to bury some breeze blocks under the path near the quince, to act as a root barrier, my neighbour has lots and wants to get rid of them.

I did wonder about some very dwarf trees, quince or medlar, which grow 5 feet tall, but I'm not convinced they are worth it, surely there cannot be much fruit. I rejected morello cherry as it would need netting.