I know a lot of us are very involved with preserving heirloom flowers and vegetables, but many of us never consider heirloom (or antique) fruits. The fact that most people no longer have acres of land to work with has a lot to do with it. However, you really don't need as much space as you think.

One of my favorite tricks is a method called espalliering. That's when you grow a bush or tree flat against a wall, fence, or trellis. You could say that grape vines are espalliered. I've also seen Pyracanthas grown this way. On the side of my one shed, I've begun a tiered horizontal pattern with two pear trees.

Another trick is using dwarfing rootstocks. you can grow 9 dwarf trees in the space of one standard tree.

So, what are your space-saving ideas?