Backyard microclimates, indeed! My Sammamish property helped me understand much about this: from one side to the other in both the front & the back, you could experience multiple variances. I started compiling temperature & weather pattern data (I'm a hopeless Geek...) in order to achieve a better understanding of how to deal with the spectrum of plants I could grow. For some plants, there is ample "growing experience" information; others, not so much.
Trial & error, lots of patience, scouring periodicals & books helped over the years.
Then, the internet happened. (The Geek's dream come true!)
Even still, there is so much more information needed to understand what a plant can take when it's considered borderline. What the Koppen stats show are norms over a period of time, which is practical & necessary information. But when you've sourced something that is rare, or $$$, you don't want to deal with norms.
However, all this info overlaid with experience tells a more complete picture. I am grateful for a variety of ways to approach growing a broad range of plants. If that helps me learn how to tweak the site so the plant in question can adapt, all the better.
Thanks for all the links, Rick. Homework!
And let's not meander down the path to Annie's......it's hard to make the return trip.
