What is a 'microclimate'?

What is a 'microclimate'?

Tracy DiSabato-Aust (Garden Designer and Author) gives expert video advice on: What is the 'USDA Hardiness Zone Map'?; What is the 'AHS Plant Heat Zone Map'?; What is the 'Sunset zone map'? and more...

A microclimate would be a small pocket or an area within a garden that would have a slightly different temperature, or it might have a slightly different soil. But normally we look at particularly low-lying areas that would be considered frost pockets, which would be dangerous for plants. And that would be a little microclimate. Or you might have an area close to the home that's sunny, that's warm, and where you could grow plants that might not be hardy in other areas of the garden, because of that increased heat.