Your garden is a microclimate—and understanding it will help you grow better!

Even though you and your neighbor share a Growing Zone, your gardens might behave totally differently. That’s because your soil, sun exposure, water, airflow, and even nearby plants all create a unique microclimate. Let’s talk about what a microclimate is and how you can use this info to have a thriving flower garden.

What is a microclimate?

So what’s a microclimate? Zooming out to a birds-eye view, each part of every continent on our planet has been assigned a Climate Zone based on the biggest air and ocean currents, mountains/deserts/oceans, and latitude/longitude. Within those climates, here in North America, agricultural scientists have established Growing/Gardening Zones which are related to more specific, regional weather patterns. 

Your Growing Zone is established by your geographical address, BUT the orientation of your individual garden in relation to the sun’s arc in the sky, your soil, your water source and quality, trees/larger shrubs or walls that allow or prevent airflow, other types of plants growing near your dahlias, and more all can influence and create your garden’s unique microclimate. You may even find, as you assess your garden, that you have different areas of your growing space with different needs!

Why does this matter?

The more you observe and understand your own garden, the better you can grow the plants that matter most to you. Of course you could go super-granular on this, organizing water tests to understand the minerals and additives in your water, soil tests to see exactly where you stand nutritionally, but for the vast majority of home gardeners, simply monitoring the Healthy Dahlia Trifecta regularly, keeping notes in your gardening journal or app, and working from the information you gather will make a BIG difference in how your dahlias flourish.

It can also be really helpful to keep a record of any issues you have in your garden, and see if there are any connections between your microclimate, the Healthy Dahlia Trifecta, and your garden problems

Here are some practical examples of considering your unique microclimate and using that information to problem-solve. For example, are you struggling with pests in your garden? It’s possible that your garden hosts weeds or other plants that are especially attractive to the pests that are plaguing your dahlias. If you remove the weeds, you will likely find that removing the “host crop” removes the pests’ access to your cut flowers!

Or another example: if you are struggling with your dahlias wilting in the afternoon heat, adding a shade screen or planning ahead to plant some towering sunflowers on the south side of your garden might create just a few hours of afternoon shade to help keep everything happier. (Another tip: If you are struggling with growing well, use this summer to carefully observe your garden and consider re-siting it next year!) 

Remember that your garden is just that – YOUR garden. You get to choose what grows in it of course, but you also get to nurture it, sort of “culitvate a relationship” with it, and over the years, use your deepening knowledge of it to help it thrive.