Stylish Garden Shade Solutions to Elevate Your London Oasis
Most of us love summer and long for it to arrive through our seemingly endless winters, however on hot days we often want to be able to find cooling shadier spots in order to keep enjoying our gardens. It’s important when planning your new garden to think about where the sun is at different times of the day along with how and when you will mostly be using your garden.
Another thing to consider is whether you are a sun lover or if you prefer to stay out of the sun during hotter parts of the day. Knowing these things will help you decide where you would like your seating areas to be and what type of shade solutions you might need. Usually the best way to make the most of your garden is to allow for some areas to enjoy the sun and some where shade can be provided meaning you can enjoy it throughout the day and through the seasons…
We’re a landscape and garden design studio in North London providing distinctively layered, harmonious residential design projects in London and beyond. In this blog we cover stylish shade solutions for gardens that include:
Adding a pergola
Using trees to best effect
Using your space smartly with the journey of the sun
Garden parasols
Add a modern Pergola
Dappled shade can be provided by an overhead pergola, even a small one over a bench or seating area can provide a welcome respite from the sun. Ensuring that you have planting areas near your pergola will enable you to train climbing plants up and across it.
Introduce climbers to your Pergola
The leafy growth will provide more dappled shade & the flowers of some climbers such as Jasmine, Honeysuckle and Roses will immerse you in a gorgeous scented atmosphere and provide nectar for pollinators as well- bonus!
Fragrant Jasminium ‘Clotted Cream’ weaving its way through the pergola
Larger overhead pergola casting gorgeous shadows with Akebia quinata Pergola seating area immersed weaving its way through the pergola planted just next to the supporting timber allowing it to climb up
Pergola seating area immersed in lush planting
Strategically plant Trees
Dappled shade can also be provided by making use of an existing tree or planting new ones that have an open airy structure or a raised canopy such as a multi-stemmed Acer palmatum ‘Sango-Kaku’ or Crataeugus persimilis ‘Prunifolia Splendens’- both of these have many seasons of interest through the year from flowers or fruits to interesting bark colour. A new tree could be positioned strategically to allow some of the leafy canopy to partially shade a seating area and give off some gorgeous dappled light and shadows.
How to choose your tree
When choosing a tree for this purpose make sure that it won’t get too big for your space or that it is one that benefits from pruning to maintain desired shape and size. Also bear mind how it will tie in with rest of the colours in your garden, and if it will compliment the hard landscaping materials, other plants and furnishings.
Making use of this existing Bay tree to provide some shade over the large built in seating area
A lovely multi-stemmed Acer providing dappled shade, the coral coloured bark harmonising with the warmth of the Cedar and bench
Some lovely dappled shade from this Crataegus with a raised canopy
Making the very best use of your space
It’s a good idea to think about having more than one seating area in your garden, so that the various areas can be enjoyed at different times of the day, either to chase the sun or to find a shadier place to relax in. Often people think that their seating area should be very close to the house for ease of access or proximity to the kitchen perhaps. This may be the right option for you but it’s not always the best way to make use of a space. Sometimes the best place to situate a patio or seating area is further away from the house.
Think about how the sun moves
If the rear of the garden gets the evening sun and that’s when you are most likely to be relaxing or entertaining friends or family then that may be the best spot to have a larger area for sofas, tables & chairs etc. Similarly if you like to work in the garden then having a cooler place to sit during the day can be a good idea.
Relaxing spot to enjoy the garden in the cool shade
Generous seating area at the rear of the garden to relax or entertain and catch the afternoon & evening sun
Recessed seating area for a morning coffee in the sun or a place for some shade later on…
Include a Garden Parasol
Finally, there are many ingenious ways to provide a more solid type of shade. Some of these also function as protection from rain. If planned and installed correctly, a built in, cantilevered parasol can offer a flexible shade solution. With this option the base will be professionally installed by setting it into concrete in the ground. The upper part of the parasol can then be slotted into the base making it a sturdy and safe shelter even in windier conditions. They will also withstand and protect you from showers. The beauty of this solution is that this type of parasol can be angled and tilted to ensure you have cover where you need it.
Types of garden parasol
They come in a vast variety of colours and finishes and when folded down take up little space. A free standing parasol is also an option and provides flexibility as it can be moved around the garden. Beware though, sturdy ones will have heavy bases so can be difficult to move around easily. Another very clever solution is a wall mounted cantilevered parasol such as this one from Insta Shade, if you have a suitable wall to mount to. This is a lovely idea that doesn’t take up any valuable space on the ground and also folds away neatly against the wall when not in use.
A free standing parasol nestled behind a tree when not in use
Large cantilevered built in parasol providing much needed shade for dining and cooking on hot summer days
Clever wall mounted cantilevered parasol that can be angled and tilted making it very flexible
