oz orin

I think you mentioned doing this as a 0.25 acre plot which would be about 100' x 100' Do you have a sense yet of how many of the plants you list below you would like to grow in this plot? A few mature chestnuts or shagbark hickories could create a lot of shade - even after 10 years. Of course black walnuts would contribute juglone to the soil which could prevent many other plants from growing their for years after. It seems like in addition to the broad list of plants your plan might benefit from a phasing which accounts for the life cycle of each species? We have an AO bush that is about 25' in diameter and about 20' tall. It does produce berries but mainly on an outside "shell". The interior of the bush is non productive so even though it takes up a large footprint it produces no more than a bush that's well pruned but 20% of the size. Rather like the difference between and overgrown or pruned Forsythia. I'm bringing up this example with the idea of phasing / maintenance in mind.

What trees will you be planting? How will you prevent shading of the AO bushes? In our experience the bushes grow well enough in shade but actually flourish and produce berries well only with full sun. They produce berries in the shade but at a very reduced yield. If you're only looking for nitrogen fixing and not also the berries is there something else you would consider for the understory?