If I had it to do all over again, I'd have planted a new fruit or nut tree (or at least bush) every year. By now I'd have a fabulous collection of yummy things (and healthy) from which to choose simply by walking outside my house. Now I have 2 cherry trees, 2 blueberry bushes (that are debating whether to hang on through the winter or be pulled out in the spring) and 1 extremely slow growing apple tree. And now I have a supreme desire for more than 6 hours of sunlight in as much of my garden as possible. Yet I still wish for fruit trees, but they sure do create shady areas. Enter the solution:
Apples and pears: growing and training as cordons by the Royal Horticultural Society.
I was searching of course for something completely different at the time I happened upon the images of these apple cordons, but I was hooked as soon as I saw them. They're basically apple trees (and pear, as well as other fruit trees) that are trained to grow in a particular fashion, such as up against a fence, along a wire trellis - more 2D than 3D and definitely space saving! And the fruit can be full size, too, it's not like a bonsai tree. There are even books (with good reviews, too) see
cordon fruit tree books at Amazon.com
& a lot of them have sneak-peaks inside, too for even more ideas!