I will be at the residence sometime in the next week, feeding, fertilizing, mulching, replacing pansies, etc. When I do I'll take some pics with my camera phone but keep in mind we're just coming out of a dismal time of the year here.

Actually, I did not know that there was more than one kind of Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem'. However, that does not surprise me. I purchased them already espalier from a local nursery for landscapers that I use. It's been six months but I think they were $125.00 each at landscaper prices. They had them in 7 gallon pots, I think, maybe bigger, with cheap lattice work stuck in with stakes in about a 4 x 4 grid with green ties to hold them against it. I built a much larger structure for all 3 which I anchored against a concrete wall and stained a "coffee" color with stain from Home Depot. I used treated wood, 4 x 4 posts, 4 x 8 foot panels of 1/2 inch lattice work and trimmed with 1 x 4 appearance board to cover the seams between and around the panels. Then, I planted the little gems after discarding the cheap lattice work and used black zip ties to attach them to the lattice work. The lattice work is about 10 feet off the ground but the Little Gems are only about 4 feet, plenty of room for slow growers. Though this is not where I bought mine, this is typical of how they come from the grower: http://www.youngsnurseries.com/Oregon-2007/images/Magnolia%20Little%20Gem.jpg . I don't remember them costing any more than a comparably sized little gem that was not espalier. Ironically, we got one that the customer was very pleased with that I put in the middle but we had to wait a few days for the nursery to get a few more in from the grower. The new ones, though in the same size pot, were bigger and the customer decided that the first one was some how defective. I had been excited because I thought she would be pleased with the size of the new ones but instead she tried to get me to eat the cost of the first one. Instead, I bought her one large Encore Azalea, 7 gallon, Fall Twist and she settled down. In May, I think, I am getting a pro photographer there to take some pics and I would be happy to email them to you!