On the north side of my backyard and my front yard, I am loaded down with trees. Most of them get pretty large - mangoes, avocado, black sapote, jackfruit, san pablo custard apple, mamey, persimmon, fig, barbados cherry, mulberry, and jabo. I have lots of bananas, papayas, and pineapples too. I am now thinking about plants for the south side of my backyard. This is where I currently have my annual vegetable garden. The space is only ~22' wide (from my house to the fence). I'm looking to retain a small vegetable garden. My plan is to plant deciduous trees to the south so that sunlight can get in for my winter vegetables, and trees to the north that are either deciduous or let in dappled light, so that I can grow veggies underneath them.
I'm looking for small trees and shrubs that meet a few criteria:
1. Are deciduous or let in dappled light.
2. Can be managed at a fairly small size (lets say up the 8' wide. Maybe a little more)
3. Are productive. It's okay if some of them produce "snacks," but not all of them.
4. Ideally, are interesting. I have all of the "usual suspects" already, so something that's a bit more unique would be nice.
I have some ideas, but would love to get some advice from the forum members. I greatly appreciate your input!