Backyard transformation advice needed

Alright, so I’m planning a major redesign of my backyard. I'm living in southern Ontario (Zone 5a/b) and it’s a north-facing yard with a slope of about 30–45 degrees (steeper toward the top), measuring approximately 15 ft by 23 ft. I’ve attached a detailed whiteboard diagram showing my proposed layout. The left side of the yard receives the most sunlight, while the right side gets partial sun. Last season, I built four garden beds on the left, and this season I’m planning to add another bed on the right.

The main highlights will be two fruit trees: a Flamin’ Fury PF 24C peach tree and a Mont Royale European plum tree. Each tree will be planted in a bordered area measuring 4 ft by 2.5 ft. I’m also planning to create a permaculture guild around both trees using the plants listed in my whiteboard diagram.

Another challenge I’d like to take on is transforming the slope into a terraced garden design, which is more of a landscaping project.

Before I start making purchases, I wanted to share my plan here and get feedback to see if there’s anything I could improve or just general advice or things I need to watch out for, be it in my plant spacing, companion planting choices, permaculture guild choices, sun/shade plants etc.

Here are some images for reference:

  1. Whiteboard Diagram: https://imgur.com/a/BCZlP61
  2. Backyard Photo with Sketch 1: https://imgur.com/a/CEBgT7o
  3. Backyard Photo with Sketch 2: https://imgur.com/a/vVxLjY2
  4. What I want the terraced portion to look like: https://imgur.com/a/FqEm12h

Posted Feb 23, 2026, 6:06 AM UTC

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