Norways suck the life out of everything around them and chanticleer pear are weak wooded, break in the wind type trees. On top of that, Picea pungens (Colorado Spruce) needs all the light and air circulation you can give them. Avoid the pitfalls of those other folks and go with your insticts and you'll be merry to the max.

tj

Yep, TJ's got it right. Those plantings you reference are not going to work out well, esp. for the spruce. Now, the overall effect of coniferous and broadleaved trees growing in proximity to one another is delightful, but, you have to give each type the room it is going to need to develop properly.

+oM

key word.. NEW YARDS ...

this is what happens when a BUILDER .. on a budget.. is making landscape decisions ...

ornamental pears .. horrible plants .. even the named varieties ...

norway maples.. the ABSOLUTE worst of the maple clan ... horrible ... horrible trees ...

the most invasive weed on the face of the earth .. grass.. cant even grow under them ...

and though i love picea pungens.. frankly.. they can easily be 20 to 40 feet wide .... and 40 to 80 feet tall ... not really a plant for suburbia...

my guess.. regarding the first two .. bargain plants based on reduced demand.. led to a bargain price in bulk ...

and pungens are really cheap ...

always go with a diverse landscape .... so if some plague comes along.. and wipes out one of something... its not the one you choose .... every plant has an upside and a downside ...

the downside of pungens.. is their meanness ... they are not forgiving when you brush against them ... they will cut you man ....

ken