Espaliered Apple Orchard: A Mini Fruit Garden Against a Wall

In a Eugene, Oregon backyard, a 7-foot-tall stucco wall hides an alley view. At its base, a soil-filled planter holds two espaliered apple trees plus colorful flowers. A ledge along the planter provides extra seating for parties on the adjacent patio.

As part of a garden remodel, the owners retrofitted an existing cement block wall by inserting rebar and filling cores with concrete, then textured the stucco to match the house. The west-facing wall absorbs solar heat by day and radiates it back at night, making the patio cozy on cool Northwest evenings. The raised planter is 2½ feet wide, 20 feet long, with a 20-inch-tall retaining wall capped with the same tiles used on the patio.

Each semi-dwarf apple tree is grafted with four varieties ('Gravenstein', 'Jonagold', 'Liberty', 'Yellow Delicious'). Branches are trained to horizontal wires strung through eye hooks. The planter is anchored at each end by pink-flowered Lavandula angustifolia 'Jean Davis', with a bright mix of black-eyed Susans, marigolds, yellow snapdragons, and red petunias and zinnias in between.