help plan new property's trees

Hello! Long-time lurker, few-time poster. I'll do a proper reintroduction somewhere else, but right now I am noodling through a planning question and I'm hoping you will noodle with me....

I recently bought a house. It is a double-lot, .4 acres, in an urban-ish neighborhood of a small rural town. It is USDA zone 4a. It has lots of yard space, but right now it's mostly a lot of wasteful lawn, a house, a way-too-big garage, three sheds, and a few really pretty flower beds from the previous owners. So far, I've seen squirrels and rabbits and neighbor's dogs, a few songbirds I can't identify, and some flies in the flowers. We get good sun right now, and some trees or shrubs growing on the east side is going to shade our morning sun a bit, but for the most part it's all full sun.

I'm thinking about the trees I want to plant now and in the near future. These are some of my objectives:
- firewood (I'm going to try to reinstall the wood stove previous owners had in the basement, to reduce moisture and diversify/localize heating costs)
- bird habitat (probably song birds, but if I can lure a predator into the neighborhood to deal with notoriously pesky squirrels, well....)
- shade (something deciduous on the south side to help summer cooling costs)
- food (less important, but still a consideration for a local and sustainable diet, surpluses can go to the farmer's market)

Thoughts? Opinions? Anyone else in zone 4a? What observations should I be making to take into consideration?

Thanks for your time  :D  I'm so eager to pick everyone's brains on my new property.

Since, you are close to neighbors, make sure no thorns or fruit fall into neighboring property or the road. That would include tall fruit trees, mulberries, osage orange, and black locusts. Along these edges, the best would be a hedge of (non thorny) berry bushes mixed with siberian pea shrub. This will keep your interpersonal conflicts and thorn popped tires to a minimum.

Thanks, thorns are something I hadn't taken into consideration, especially with neighbors. Osage orange isn't a plant I was familiar with either.

So far I think I've been able to identify one maple on the west side of the house.

I can't give specific advice to your climate but here's my two cents- Don't just go with what everyone else plants:
#1 They might be using all sorts of chemical sprays to keep them looking nice and healthy.
#2 If you plant what everyone else plants, you have to deal with common diseases. If you find less common things that will still thrive in your environment, you might have less disease and pests.
#3 If you plant uncommon fruit trees, you will have a unique product for the farmers market and little to no competition. Personally, I go to farmers markets to buy things I can't find at the regular store or don't have growing in my own yard.
#4: Grow trees from seed when you can or find local growers because the trees will grow so much healthier and easier when they are adapted to you local climate.
#5. Keep in mind the changing climate. I'm always trying to plant a few trees that will thrive in a hotter and drier climate while still surviving the cold and wet.

Also remember to think in layers when you are planning your plantings. And talk to your neighbors. They may actually like fruit dropping into their side of yard if they know they are welcome to it.

Since your #1 objective is fuel, you can do a lot of reading on permies about coppicing fuel and which wood gives the most heat. Also have you checked out the rocket stove Kickstarter that's going on right now? (Not sure how you could miss it 😜) Maybe you could incorporate something like that instead of the old wood stove. If you do go with the old wood stove, make sure it's certified before installing it.

Do you want to post a screen shot of google maps showing your yard?  Then people can make suggestions on layout.

Some little known trees that make good firewood are Apple, Crabapple, Dogwood, and Shagbark Hickory. All of those will produce about the same heat output as Oak.  I wouldn't plant trees for firewood so getting multiple uses out of the trees you have sounds important. I'd plan on helping neighbors clear or clean up down trees for the firewood. The important thing is getting free firewood not the source. Oak is somewhat hard to split, but Black Locust is near impossible. I heated a home, supplementally, with wood I split with an axe or a "Chopper II" for 20 years. I only cut what was dead, or fell, out of about 5 acres of heavy woods. I stored the wood by leaving a dead tree standing till I needed it. Amazing how dry a standing dead tree gets

Plant the fruit and nut trees that your family will enjoy, that will grow in your environment, and/or will sell well. You don't have the room to grow firewood.

Another important consideration that would help answer this question is how much water will you have available during the growing season?

Riparian trees tend to have the fastest growth potential and the most efficient use of sunlight. Their metabolism is adapted to breathe in lots of CO2 from the air and guzzle water in the process, not to conserve water. Riparian trees can often grow 3+ feet per year in good conditions. That's not a coppiced tree with established roots, that's the growth rate of a sapling.  Trees adapted for dryer locations, such as pines, can never match the growth rate of riparian trees.

On a small lot, you'll want to get as much food and fuel out of limited amount of acreage that you have. With sufficient water, including some riparian species will allow just that. Most riparian trees such as Alder are considered hardwood, but they will not burn as long as oak or madrone.

I would start by examining your local rivers and seeing what grows there. Many aquatic species are very easy to clone, sometimes just by sticking them in water. Anything growing locally will be well adapted to your local climate.

Cottonwood is an often overlooked source of food if you're willing to eat tree leaves as opposed to a garden variety vegetable. The leaves of most species are considered edible after boiling. They taste like green beans and are very high in protein. I cooked up well over a cup of them once and ate them. It does best in sandy soil but can also grow in clay type soil. Anything other than rocks.

Many aquatic species such as alder and cottonwood also fix nitrogen in their roots, just like legumes. They're great for making organic compost, especially when you don't have an external source.

Another of these fast growing riparian trees to consider growing is the Lawson's Cypress. (Here in Oregon, it's called a Port Orford Cedar if it grows in the wild near creeks). They're absolutely beautiful, very lush looking and deep green, they grow 3 feet per year, and they form a dense canopy making perfect habitat for birds.  They're also good shade trees with their dense canopy and will help lower cooling costs in summer. They're will grow in your climate zone.

Since fuel is the number one objective, why not consider building an RMH in the basement?  Maybe that existing stove could be reworked into one.

The reason I am suggesting this is that you have a small lot and once planted the trees will take time to get big enough for fuel.

heat your home with 80% to 90% less wood ...

the heat from one fire can last for days

you can build one in a day or two

folks have built them spending less than $20 ...

if you buy the wood, it costs less to operate than natural gas

https://richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp

https://permies.com/t/146999/Rocket-based-central-boiler

https://permies.com/t/164548/Heating-sq-ft-story-house

I wish I had known about them when we built our house.