Outdoor spaces are a great place to relax, but they’re even better with a natural look and feel.
Both living and artificial plants enhance the décor of your deck, porch, or any outdoor space, but blazing summer sun can cause multiple issues for either type of greenery.
Looking for porch, patio, or deck ideas on way to beat the summer sunshine and heat?
Here are some tips on how to add shade to your outdoor space.
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Issues That a Hot Summer Sun Can Cause When It Comes to Both Live and Fake Plants
Plants are one of the best things you can add to your living space. But the hot summer sun can cause issues when it comes to sun-loving living plants and even artificial plants.
In living plants, plant sunburn can occur. Also known as leaf sunscald or scorch, it occurs when a plant is abruptly exposed to a brightly lit area.
This can occur when you’re moving your houseplants outdoors for the summer or when you are bringing them home from a greenhouse or plant shop.
To help protect your living houseplants from sunburn, slowly acclimate and build up to brighter sun exposure.
Place your plant outside in the full shade for several days, then introduce it to an hour or two of morning sun, which is more gentle than mid-day sun.
Then gradually increase the plant’s sunlight exposure over two to three weeks.
While artificial plants generally need very little care, the sun can damage them as well.
One of the best ways to keep your plants safe is to prop them under an umbrella or invest in some UV spray to keep artificial flowers from fading.
You can also rotate your artificial plants into and out of your areas of highest sun exposure and direct sunlight.
The Value That Live and Artificial Plants Offer to Outdoor Spaces Like Decks and Patios
Plants give an area visual beauty and generally make us feel better, but plants also provide other benefits.
Plants can help provide privacy in your yard or garden. While we love our neighbors (or wish we did), having that private space when you are outside is important to what a garden is all about.
Here are a few ideas for plants that can give your outdoor space some added privacy:
- Trees planted so their overhead leaves and branches “weave” together
- Thick evergreen shrubs
- Potted privacy plants
- Wall of bamboo
Some plants can help repel bugs, which is great because fewer people are wanting to use toxic chemicals to repel bugs.
There are deck plants that naturally repel bugs that can rescue the situation and add beauty to your outdoor living space. Here are some ideas for bug-repelling plants:
- Rosemary
- Mint
- Lemongrass
- Catnip
Both indoor and outdoor plants can also improve mood, increase energy levels, help us relax, enhance our concentration and memory and reduce background noise for a more peaceful space.
Shading Is a Great Way to Protect Your Investment in Outdoor Plants
One of the biggest benefits of plants is the shade they can provide. Shading can not only help you beat the summer sun but also keep your living plants from wilting and your artificial plants from melting or fading.
Here are some patio shade ideas for plants and flowers:
Add A Sun Sail to Your Patio for Easy Shading
A sun sail is one of the newest porch shade ideas. It’s a large fabric canopy that is suspended in the air for shade in outdoor areas.
It’s a thrifty solution for enjoying your outdoor space without worrying about the sun and its heat. Sun sail fabric can be opaque, blocking virtually all sun, or it can be a mesh that allows some sunlight to penetrate beneath.
Sun sails are typically attached to your house, a fence or separate poles or columns.
Build A Pergola to Allow for Protection from The Sun
A pergola is another of the more popular patio shade ideas. This is an outdoor structure consisting of columns that support a roofing grid or lattice of beams and rafters.
This roofing grid may be left open or covered to create an area sheltered from the elements. Pergolas may be freestanding or attached to a house. Some homeowners prefer pergolas because they allow some sun through but don’t block all sunlight.
Add A Retractable Awning to Your Outdoor Space
A retractable awning is another option for deck shade ideas. This device can be either manually or mechanically retracted and opened depending on your needs.
Awnings can be used to provide shade and privacy, to beautify your surroundings, or to create additional usable outdoor space. Homeowners like retractable awnings for their versatility.
Umbrellas Are A Simple Way to Add Shading to Your Patio Or Deck
Umbrellas are a popular way to add shade to your outdoor space. They are often less expensive than other types of shade products.
They are also generally portable and easy to use. However, many umbrella products have challenges when it comes to strong winds, which can damage the umbrella or even cause the umbrella to damage our other property.
One way to help keep a patio umbrella stabilized from the wind is by placing the umbrella in a heavy-duty umbrella stand or base.
These are generally heavy, which reduces the effects of strong winds on your umbrella.
Tall Plants and Fake Trees Can Help with Shading
In addition to the above products, tall plants can also help with shading, especially when the sun is lower in the sky, like mornings and evenings. You have the option to plant living trees or artificial ones.
Living trees will continue to grow and further shade your space while artificial ones will require much less care and maintenance.
Building A Live or Artificial Living Wall Can Help With Shade
Want to hide an ugly fence? Need more privacy?
If you have some outdoor aesthetic needs, a great solution for you might be a living wall. They’re beautiful, practical, and functional and can be built from living or artificial plants.
One way to build a living wall with real plants involves creating a framework to which you will attach many small pots or cups that are spaced closely together in the pattern you choose.
The pots are then filled with soil and plants of your choosing. As the plants grow, they create a beautiful wall of greenery. You’ll need to water your plants regularly.
Artificial living walls are built similarly. They can include artificial hanging plants, artificial flowers or artificial shrubs.
There are many options, so you can be creative and an artificial living wall requires little maintenance.
In summary for shading your live and fake plants
Outdoor spaces are a great place to relax, but they’re even better with the look and feel of plants, whether living or artificial.
They provide benefits like improving your mood, reducing background noise, providing privacy and helping repel bugs
But the hot summer sun can cause issues when it comes to both living plants and even artificial plants. Investing in a sun sail, pergola, retractable awning can give extra shade to both you and your outdoor plants.
A living wall is also a great way to beautify an area while hiding an unsightly fence.
We hope you’ve enjoyed and found this information useful.
If you have additional tips or ideas on your favorite ways to beat the summer sun with shade for your living and artificial plants and flowers in the comments.
