My zone is supposed to be 8b.
Example of a micro-climates in my Savannah, Georgia yard.
I have some zone 10 plants. I brought most of these cold-sensitive plants into the house for the winter months, but as an experiment I left 3 plants outside during the winter. One of the plants survived the extremely cold winter we recently experienced, so that spot is the warmest micro-climate in my yard. It has rich soil, lots of overhead trees for cover, bright shade, and ample water.
The front of my house is exposed to more wind, gets less water, has very sandy soil, receives no protection from any overhead tall trees, and is more desert-like; good for Xeriscape gardening.
Funny thing is that I learned all this in a very odd way. About 15 years ago I went to a nursery to buy some new landscape plants for a house I had purchased. The nursery owner (who appeared to have no sense of humor) asked me where I lived. I said, 'Waycross, Georgia'. No, no, no. He wanted me to be more specific. I told him, 'Saint Mary's Drive'. No, not good enough. He needed me to be even more specific. When I told him the house number, he thought I was making a joke. It seems that I had purchased the housed that used to belong to him 50 years earlier.
Once he got over the shock of the coincidence, he gladly explained micro-climates in great detail. And yes, I bought a car load of new plants.
And he became my go-to guy for plant questions.
