You’re sitting in your own garden. You look up. What do you really see? Robin’s egg–blue skies and cotton ball clouds? A leafy canopy shimmering in a cinch? Maybe it’s an umbrella, a gazebo or a rose-covered trellis.
Every part of your garden has a ceiling, even if it’s the skies above. Now this might come off a bit “gloaty,” but if an architect selects a ceiling within your house, it’s fairly straightforward: He or she selects from wood paneling, plaster, acoustical tile or possibly a skylight. But garden designers have a more robust array of useful and decorative choices which may be grown, constructed or assembled.
The most important purpose of your home’s ceiling is to keep out the elements and prevent the individuals sleeping upstairs from falling through the living room under. But a garden’s ceiling may do much more.
Megan Buchanan
Think About Growing It
the very first thing that pops into most garden owners’ heads if they think about incorporating something between them and the skies is colour. The most fervent sun worshipper needs a break in the beams once in a while. And with people becoming more conscientious about avoiding excessive exposure to ultraviolet light rays, garden ceilings make good sense, healthwise. A bit of cloud cover is a welcome treat on a hot day, but the majority of us lack the influence with Mother Nature to summon the clouds once required.
That is where trees play a significant function. Aside from their natural beauty and graceful movement, they can cool the floor below (along with your afternoon guests) by up to 15 degrees. If your garden already has trees which cast shade in which you need it, you’re in luck. Otherwise, consider if you may move your outside dining or reading room into that pool of shadow.
In my design work, I sometimes use garden ceilings to set the mood by creating a sense of enclosure and defining spaces within a larger area. Unlike with walls or hedges, the external perspectives are maintained.
guides to great trees for your landscape
Arterra Landscape Architects
What about beginning a new tree out of a container or bare root? That may take some time. Caecilius Statius, a Roman poet at the next century B.C., reminded us “He plants trees to benefit another generation.” While it’s not likely you’ll crank up your time machine and ask the previous owners to acquire a tree began for you, you need to seriously consider the tree’s rate of expansion. The double-edged sword which accompanies planting fast-growing species is that some don’t understand when to cease and therefore are often short lived. But if the budget allows, large trees can be purchased and planted, usually with the aid of a long-reach crane.
If you do decide to plant a shrub or three, a main concern is if the plant loses its leaves in the winter or stays evergreen. Your garden will soon be welcoming through more seasons if the tree sheds its leaves and also allows warming light to reach you to a cool day. But be prepared for some fall raking, and add these leaves into your compost pile for an extra benefit.
Katie moss landscape design
You could be thinking, “An older tree could be out of scale for my garden.” That is reasonable; however, on occasion you can provide colour just where you want it. For instance, by constructing a simple rose arbor on a rustic bench, you would block sunlight while incorporating a sense of intimacy. The width of the canopy and orientation of the sitting area will dictate just how much color is cast and in what period of the day.
Choosing the ideal plant for the ideal place takes a while savvy, as you’ll have to match the growing demands of the blossom into the backyard soil and light. Another thing to keep in mind is that plants do not have off buttons, so expecting the mature size of a plant properly can save hours of actions. Vines such as honeysuckle may delight your nose but has the potential to become a rampant nuisance as time passes. Check before purchasing with a knowledgeable nursery attorney.
Together with all the ceiling materials within this ideabook, you’ll want to cover the reality that not only does the sun move across the sky daily, but its position varies throughout the year. Winter sun rises in the southeast, sets in the southwest and traverses low in the skies. That means that if a canopy or roofline goes too far beyond where you’re sitting, you may never feel the sun’s warming rays. In summer the sun rises and sets further north and paths almost overhead. Consider these routines when you plan your own colour strategy.
Living Earth Landscapes
Think About Portability
I am dating myself here, but among my beloved Lovin’ Spoonful lyrics out of the ’60s went, “You and me and rain on the roof, caught up in a summer shower.” In rainy parts of the nation, there aren’t many things more beautiful than sitting high and dry while hearing the pitter-pat of a light rain cleanup the garden. It’ll take more than a leafy tree or vine to accomplish that.
On the street we carry an umbrella, and the same approach can be used in the garden. That is the flip side of any color arrangement: It disturbs out of sunlight, but it allows you to enjoy the outdoors on a drizzly or rainy day.
Portable umbrellas come in all sorts of designer colours and layouts, and can serve you for many years. The canvas fabrics of yesteryear have been replaced by long-term synthetic substances like Sunbrella. Patio umbrellas can be inserted through the center of a table or supported by a portable plate on the floor — some bases are weighted with sand or water but come with wheels for easy relocation.
Choose the right patio umbrella for you
Think About Security and Longevity
Umbrellas are convenient, but even the larger ones have their limitations when it comes to shading a large deck or terrace. That is where colour sails and shade-cloth structures arrive in. The woven materials are long lasting and moisture resistant, and may block up to 90% of damaging rays. They can be found in ready-made triangular panels or may be custom-designed and installed by firms specializing in tensioned fabric structures. The color range is impressive, from simple light and white tints to vibrant, saturated colours. The quality of the materials may vary considerably, so do your research and, if possible, visit an installation where they have been in use for some time.
Small, prefabricated sails can be attached to eaves, existing structures or poles (please don’t drill eye screws in your own trees!) , but larger ones will need a little structural engineering to assure stability once the wind pick up.
A big benefit of smaller sail sunglasses is that they may be put up and removed without too much effort as weather conditions change. And if a person does not really do the trick, several can be overlapped, creating interesting patterns.
Alex Amend Photography
You don’t have to become a circus performer to appreciate the ease of a tent for easy, inexpensive, portable coverage. These light and airy garden structures come in all shapes and sizes, and therefore are sold as kits you’ll be able to assemble in a few hours using simple tools. The frames are lightweight and, like contemporary umbrellas, they comprise durable fabrics, making your buy a smart long-term investment. Some feature side panels which may be opened for air circulation or shut for a romantic escape.
Tip: For safety sake, garden tents need to be well anchored in breezy or windy places. (It is so embarrassing to call within the fence, “Hey, mister, can we have our tent back?”) Methods for maintaining a tent in which you want it vary by design and may include bets with tie-downs, spikes, concrete “feet” or sandbags. If you know that your tent will be a permanent feature, you can connect to below-ground concrete footings.
Additionally, keep in mind that even the most lasting fabrics can eventually succumb to the components. If you’re purchasing a tent out of a kit, it pays to purchase from an established firm that is more likely to be around Once You need them — which is, when you’re in need of replacement fabric some years down the road,
Pat Brodie Landscape Design
If you’re looking for a more durable, permanent structure but enjoy the ease of altering the amount of colour in your yard, a retractable shade fabric may be your very best bet. There are lots of approaches to configure this kind of ceiling, but in its core there’s a frame (either freestanding or attached to a building), cables or metal rods for the fabric to run together, panels of colour fabric with grommets or bands which let it slide, and strings for extending or retracting the fabric — such as drapes, but flat.
The beauty of this approach is that the frame can assume any architectural style to match your residence, ranging from rustic ironwork to stone columns to antique columns or stained wood. Very similar to shade colour, the color and pattern palette for colour cloths is quite wide. But like trees, umbrellas and tents, these structures require building permits in most jurisdictions, which means that you ought to combine forces by an architect, landscape architect or garden designer teamed with a structural engineer.
Garcia Rock And Water Design
Think About Permanence
Say “gazebo” and it’s hard not to envision a relaxed weekend afternoon and a frosty pitcher of lemonade on a summer day. Gazebos not only serve a beneficial purpose for fun — or just getting lost in a fantastic book — but if thoughtfully sited, they can become the focal point of your garden. The timeless garden gazebos are just six- or eight-sided pavilions with wood flooring and shingled roofs supported on columns. If this does not suit your style, there are exotic versions conjuring up a Balinese getaway and pared-down contemporary structures. Gazebos can be outfitted with screens to keep bugs at bay or strong windows (but that sort of flies in the face of outside living, in my book).
If there may be a gazebo on your near future, you can choose from a kit or work with an architect to custom design the ideal arrangement for your eyesight. Irrespective of which route you take, remember that form follows function. That means deciding just how the space will be used so that you can establish the right size — a cozy space for peaceful meditation or the social hub of the garden where friends can gather. The most straightforward way to acquire this crucial detail right is to really organize the furnishings that you expect to use and then leave extra space for moving around within the footprint.
More in this series: How to pick your garden wall |The best way to pick your garden flooring