microclimates - north side of a cinderblock wall

Hey everyone!  I'm trying to decide where to plant some things and have gone round and round in my head about planting near this wall.  I have a 6-7 foot cinderblock wall that runs roughly east-west on the south side of my property.  So I would be planting on the north side of the wall.  Technically, it faces just a touch off of north (westward).  I'm really looking for a good spot to plant some fruit/nut trees and keep them from blossoming out too quickly, which is a problem for our area.  I'm in the high desert, zone 8a, though it feels more like 7 to me (and I believe I'm right on the edge).  Our afternoon sun in summer (from the west) is killer, which I believe is partly to do with our elevation (6000 ft).  I live in one of those places where "full sun" plants shrivel up and die unless they get some shade.  Our winters our mostly mild and sunny but we do get snow and lots of wind.  I'm also on a slope that runs downhill toward the west, but is pretty mild along most of this wall.

Anyhow, I was looking for a cold spot in hopes of keeping the trees from leafing out too early.  The north side of a wall sounds good for that.  (I can't really plant much on the north side of my house because that's where the gas lines are.)  However, I was thinking that the wall is catching a lot of sun from the other side, so it's going to catch and hold heat and release it, evening out the temps between night and day, and maybe making things a touch warmer?  So would it be a cool spot that's more regulated, and help?  Or would it be warmer because of thermal mass and hurt?  Or maybe be warmer and help protect blossoms from late freezing?  I can't really get my head around which it would be.  I have an All-In-One almond tree on order for next spring, and I've read that almonds blossom really early as-is (though this variety is late-blooming for almonds, at least).  I also have a bunch of other things to juggle around, but I have some time to decide where they'll go.  Espalier is also an option if that would help (and what's more I have a south-facing brick wall I could use if I was going for super-warm microclimate, but this will be baking come summer.)

Thoughts on the north-facing wall?  Where would you plant the almond?

Thanks!

I am not nearly as hot as you are though I am also high. Everything on the north side of our house does take longer to bloom so I think that is a good solution for early bloomers. I think, based upon some cement in the area, that it will be a heat sink and will even out the temp. I could be wrong though.

As an experimenter I'd just plant all the things and see what lived.

Yes, pretty sure it could live there, but will it produce nuts?  I don't think almond trees like to be moved, so I want to get it in the best place from day 1.