Microclimates and Real Estate Districts

 
People often ask me about the weather in specific areas, so it seems maybe time to start posting about microclimate by real estate zone. Of course, micro climate can be very micro so there will be multiple microclimates in each zone, depending on slope, aspect etc., but some generalizations can be made.

OCSC Sailing School

There are various apps, for Android, and now for iPhone, which draw from the wonderful Weather Underground  weather station data, which can give you more or less present time data on weather in different locations. I love the accuracy of this data- I had an open house out at Ocean Beach on an extremely windy Sunday a while back- the swell was up and there were a bunch of kite surfers out. My weather reports kept saying 10 mph winds, but I was freezing in the foyer and watching the kites rip around and that just did not compute. I finally dug into the Weather Underground app or the weather stations, and sure enough, the Outer Richmond station reported 25-35 mph, with gusts to 45, which made me feel a lot less crazy. 

SanFranciscoWeather

So, you can use Weather Underground weather station data, on your phone or computer, to compare the weather in different zones. As discussed ad nauseum, there are generalities- east is warmer then west, south facing is warmer than north etc.

Acme.com

Notice, above, the three different weather forecasts for inland, bay and coast? If you don't like the weather, you don't have to go very far. Since your home can't move though, it's good to choose a climate you prefer when you are making a purchase. In the next post I will begin to make my way across the real estate maps of the city and Marin and blather on about climate, parks and open space, walkability and the like for each zone or town. In the meantime, here's the "super scientific" (not, but close enough) map from heyneighborhood.blogspot.com for San Francisco, and a cool little write up on Marin microclimates here.

Microclimate

During the Native Plant Garden tour hours yesterday I visited a beautiful garden in the outer Richmond district.  Chatting with the gardener (the talented Julie Swift of Wild Natives), talk turned to microclimate (surprise!) and she pointed out how many microclimates there are just within the property we were on. Most visually dramatic were two coffee berry plants, bought from the same nursery at the same time, and planted on opposite sides of the house. I got excitable in my microclimate nerdiness, and whipped out my phone to document this phenomena.

This little coffee berry is in the back yard, east of the two story house.

This big fat coffee berry is in the front, on the west side of the house, exposed to long hours of afternoon sun, unlike its small friend in the back yard. This was taken from further away- I shall have to perfect this microclimate comparison photography I see. But you get the gist- microclimate makes a difference!

The Bloom Continues - Native Plants and Succulents

My case of spring fever continues. So, apropos of microclimate perhaps more than real estate, here's a heads up on some weekend events for the plant minded. The California Native Plant Societies SF (Yerba Buena) Chapters Annual Garden Tour takes place this Sunday from 11-3, and it is a great opportunity to look at what grows well, where, in San Francisco.

Gwen Kelaidis Saxon Holt

On Saturday, from 10-4, in Marin, is the 36th Annual Native Plant Sale and Nursery Grand Opening. Also, Saturday in the Outer Sunset, the aforementioned Far Out Flora folks are having their moving sale, it starts at 9:00.

 

PlantedEarth

Native plants and succulents are often drought tolerant and tough, and do well in our climate with minimal care. Not to mention that many are SO gorgeous.

Spring Flora!

All this rain has sure greened things up at last. Birds singing, flowers blooming, time to garden! I was so sad to learn recently that the Far Out Flora bloggers are moving back to Wisconsin. Their enthusiasm and skill with plants adapted to Bay Area microclimates  is so inspiring. Their garden is/was in the Outer Sunset in  San Francisco. Meghan worked in Richmond at Annies Annuals and Matti worked at Flora Grubb Gardens  on the sunnier east side of SF in the Bayview.  Two of my favorite nursery's, so creative both Flora and Annie.  Their exposure to what really works in these seriously differing microclimates, plus their artistic backgrounds, make them a wonderful resource, and they will be seriously missed.

SF Botanical Garden

As a plant ecologist for years, I kept my passion for flashy horticultural joys a little under wraps, in favor of our magnificent native flora. These days, I can freely appreciate the beauty and function of "cultivars" ("a race or variety of a plant that has been created or selected intentionally and maintained through cultivation") as well as our lovely California wildflowers.

Alan Grinberg Mori Point

Speaking of cultivation, mark your calendars for the largest plant sale in California,  at the San Francisco Botanic Garden (Strybing). Also, the Larner Seeds awesome native wildflower demonstration garden in Bolinas is going off, if you feel like a field trip. Here are more resources for growing native plants, and here, here and here are resources for field viewing of the spring bloom.

BAWSCA

For you many food growers, Golden Gate Gardening is so helpful for our microclimates. As is the latest version of the Sunset classic Western Garden Book, which now has a plastic cover, the better for using with muddy hands. Their climate zones are more useful here than those of the USDA, being finer grained and including humidity, latitude and elevation, which give you a clearer idea of what you can really grow. They also have a fun on-line plant finder.

Happy Spring!

DavesGarden Cottage Garden Xeriscape