@antanicus This reminds me a bit of fruit walls, the technique that northern Europeans used in the 17th century to create teeny microclimates for a specific crop: https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/12/fruit-walls-urban-farming-in-the-1600s/

I first learned about those at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden; they have examples of that espalier pruning technique in their collection.