Sprucing up the courtyard

May 3, 2015

We were too late in preparing our courtyard of tropical plants for winter. Renovations too longer than expected. Frost hit. Plants struggled but was still alive. We went away for vacation. A freaky snowstorm blew through the area over the New Year night. Snow actually stuck to the ground instead of just flurries, the most extreme snow the area has experienced. Kids were sledding down snow clad hills. Come on, this is Southern California!! 

See the snow on the slope of the vineyards

Our priority this spring has been to prepare the courtyard for the hot Temecula summers and the cold winter to come. We had installed posts and removable canopy structures. We will leave most sections open during the summer, except for creating shade for Frasier and Ellie. I swear the dogs are so excited to come up with us then wither in the heat and look at us with eyes that say "why? What is this?" I digress. We are hoping  the shade structure will allow us protect our tropical plants from the extreme dry heat. It is searing unlike the Malaysian hot weather. In winter, we are hoping the shade cloth will prevent the cold from settling down on the plants.

The grape vine patterned panels are permanent. The bars across the top can be removed when not in use. We will install shade cloth over the open spans. 

The beams run along the perimeter of the wall on one side and along the outer walls of the house on the other side.The plan is we grow some vines that produce fruits at the foot of the panels, letting them climb up.

The walled courtyard is meant for our tropical and subtropical plants. It is an experiment in creating a microclimate for these plants. We are wanting to take advantage of the Temecula hot summer to grow tropicals which we have not been successful in our cooler San Diego garden. At the same time, Temecula has frost... so therein lies the challenge. 

Thus far, I have grown and lost mangoes, papayas and Jambu Air. Maybe this shade cloth structure will give us the chances we need.The biggest difference I think, will come from us actually living in Temecula. We can actually react to weather changes and challenges when they happen.

The next stage after we establish this shade cloth courtyard garden, will be to build a greenhouse. We need to live there full time to find the best location to site the greenhouse.