Mae Hodges

Thanks for the helpful replies! Nicole, I LOVE the shade diagram! Aerial maps are so much fun. I realize it would be a long while before a tree got very big, it just made me reluctant to do perennials or invest in a permanent bed.

My dad's a carpenter and he's not a big fan of vines climbing on buildings-- we also plan to repaint the house pretty soon. I've had fantasies of 3 story trellises on the windy side of the house too, but I'm not sure how I'd manage the plants when they got very high to keep them from climbing on the house itself. And kiwi vines that close to the house would be a little scary from what I've read about their growth rate. Does anyone have firsthand experience with shade trellising?

I have a 3 story house, so any meaningful shade trees would have to be pretty big. Your yard sounds nice though.

Hello permies,

I have a dilemma. I'm torn between planting a Toby Hemenway style garden in front of our south facing porch, or putting large shade trees there. Is it possible to do both? I live in Southern Maine, zone 4b/5a
Here's a map view of my house (it's in the middle with a big barn on the right): https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5223065,-70.7731135,66m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!7m1!2e1

SHADE PROS:
*We don't want to air condition, but our house gets really hot in the summer.
*We have tenants on the second and third floor who air condition constantly, so shade would (eventually) save money.
*I might be too busy to keep a garden anyway on top of starting a bread business, raising a toddler, being a landlord and trying to start a farm.
*we have an excellent field with irrigation access that's a 3-5 minute walk from the house (on the left in the picture).

GARDEN PROS:
*I hoped a garden right next to the house would be more convenient and thus more likely to get attention from me. I fantasize about surveying my domain of flowers, veggies etc while sipping coffee on the porch. Or pulling weeds while my son is playing on the porch, instead of trying to convince him to walk out into the back field and stay there.
*a permacultural garden could be a good learning experience before my husband and I start farming as a livelihood
*South side is the best spot. The East side of the house gets good sun too, but there's only a tiny patch of ground between the house and the driveway (enough space for a massive forsythia bush and an herb bed maybe). The North and West side of the house get a constant strong wind. There's a little patch of lawn on the West side, but it's shaded by either the house or trees most of the day, and tenants like to play with their dogs there. It's also very close to a massive poison ivy hedge, and I wanted to start with something easy.

QUESTIONS:
Can I grow a meaningful amount of food in the shade? Esp. ordinary veggies...