Setting up to catch the heat from our northern brick wall

Living in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales at over 900m in altitude presents some problems for growing a range of plants - here is the backyard in our first winter here about three years ago.  Yes that is snow.

Probably harder on the plants are our heavy frosts - last winter we lost all our lemons in one heavy frost - they all half froze on the tree.

To try to buffer some of our more sensitive plants from the cold we have lined up a row of pots against the north facing brick wall at the rear of the house.  I am hoping that the wall will absorb the warmth of the winter sun and help take the edge of the winter weather for the mandarin and passionfruit in particular.  In the future I would like to paint the wall a dark colour to help it absorb more heat.  In summer the wall is mostly shaded by the eave and the pots do not get too hot.

This was one of our microclimates we identified while studying the Permaculture Design Certificate last year.