Garden microclimate refers to the unique mini climate that each garden has. This page explains how you can alter the microclimate of a garden. Click the button below for more information about garden microclimates.
wHAT TO ADD TO INCREASE MICROCLIMATE TEMPERATURES
- CONCRETE AND GRAVEL PATHS
Warmer than grass. - THERMAL MASS
In the form of buildings and walls. - TREES
Evergreen trees to trap warmth under their leaves on cold nights and deciduous trees to allow in more winter sunlight. - PONDS
To release stored heat on cold winter nights to reduce the risk of frost. - WIND BREAKS
To reduce windchill. - RAISED BEDS
Warmer than vegetable beds on the ground.
WHAT TO ADD TO REDUCE MICROCLIMATE TEMPERATURES
- GRASS PATHS
Cooler than concrete or gravel paths. - LARGE TREES
To increase the amount of shade in summer. - PONDS
Have a cooling effect on hot days, warm winds blowing across a pond will be cooled due to evaporation - WIND BREAKS
To reduce hot winds in summer.
Of course there is a limit to how much you can alter a microclimate, no matter how much you change the microclimate of a garden in a frost prone area you will not be able to grow bananas or mangoes. But with care you can alter the microclimate of a garden enough to allow marginal plants to grow where they otherwise would not have survived. In doing so you will also make your garden a more liveable and enjoyable space.