THIRTEEN CRAB APPLES ALL IN A CIRCLE...NOW WHAT?

It's decision time for the Globe Theatre.

I had made a hazel dome in 2010 to protect 15 crab apples which I was growing from wild crab apple seeds. In the event only 13 of the saplings survived but I have now got a circle of crabs that are about seven foot tall and still growing. The original dome was refurbished each year along the way but was on its last legs so, this week, it has been stripped away completely. I am protecting the lower stems of the crabs from being bark-stripped by naughty rabbits, but I think the deer will not now present a problem. As well as being big enough, these crabs have a lot of thorns in the young branches (wasn't quite expecting that actually but tiz the case).

I had originally thought I'd be training the crabs to be a dome themselves. I have begun to think a slimline cylinder would be just as striking and a more realistic aim. So now, do I just prune them into shape or is there a new opportunity for embellishment to develop? Hmmmmmnnnn, will need to think about that.