Greenhouse Environments and Spaces

Both terms "desert" and "arid" primarily refer to the available water in the environment. With desert/arid regions receiving less that 10 inches of precipitation a year. Our "Desert/Arid" space ranges from "hot desert" to "great plains" depending on the watering cycle of the plants in the space. The level of relative humidity in the room is the main difference between this space and the tropical room (that and the regularity with which we water).
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Temperate climates are defined as moderate climates without extreme temperatures. Coastal climates are generally hot in the summer, cool in the winter with few to no hard freezes and higher humidity. Our "temperate/coastal" room has a climate similar to that of south and central (coastal) California. Many of the common "house plants" in our collection are in this room even if their native climate is tropical/subtropical, especially if they tolerate well the lower humidity common in most homes.
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Tropical climates are primarily classified based on an average monthly temperatures of 65F or higher (and a narrow range). Tropical climates are broken into sub-classes based on the level of precipitation or the precipitation cycle (ie. monsoon, wet/dry, savannah). Our tropical space is set-up as a "humid tropic" mimicking equatorial jungles, targeting a relative humidity of 80%+ year round.
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The "sunken room" is a special greenhouse room with a deep dirt floor below standard height walls. This room is common in display greenhouses and allows for the direct planting of larger trees indoors. Our sunken room is set up as a second humid tropical environment and will allow us to trial and cultivate beneficial insect combinations with tropical conditions reducing pesticide use in other bays.
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