We’re in for a long hot summer. It’s time now to grow your own shade

It is so hot in the United States and Europe right now that even the shade of high rises is starting to become alluring. Some people have developed such a craving for deep, dark shadows that they are open to having more tall buildings that could cast them permanently.

But in mid-winter in Australia, a time when most of us are actively welcoming sunlight, it is hard to get on board. Even in the northern hemisphere – in the midst of multiple heatwaves – any mention of how built towers can create year-round shade is contentious.

The shade created by plants, on the other hand, is almost universally welcomed. For one, it is not set in stone. The leafy cover of a plant is ever-changing and at some times of year might disappear. At other times, the plant might provide shade and flowers, fragrance and food.

Deciduous trees provide dappled shade in summer and let the sun through in winter.Credit: Getty Images

Moreover, a plant’s shade can be extra cooling thanks to the fact that plants release water vapour through tiny pores on their leaves. While buildings retain heat from the sun and thereby contribute to the urban heat island effect, plants transpire. This transpiration is part of the reason that city councils in Sydney, Melbourne and many other places are now planting thousands of street trees a year.

This is the season for home gardeners to get planting too. In this era of rising temperatures, one of the things to consider in any winter reappraisal of your garden is just how welcoming your space will be during the conditions that lie ahead.

By planting now, when the temperatures are milder and the rainfall (mostly) higher, your plants will have time to establish themselves before the dry heat of summer arrives, and thereby be more resilient in the face of it.

An added benefit of planting at this time of year is that many of the fruit trees and deciduous ornamental ones that might be used to cast shade are available bare-rooted in nurseries. These field-grown plants, sold with neither soil nor pot, are significantly cheaper than their potted versions.

While much of what you plant now is unlikely to be big enough to cast shade next summer, every bit will help make the summers to come more bearable.

Establishing areas of useful shade takes forethought. This is true no matter the size of your garden and, contrary to what you might expect, smaller gardens can require more planning than big ones. When it comes to managing light on balconies and in courtyards and other compact spaces, the same plants will be called upon to provide different conditions over the course of a year and even over the hours of a day.

You can’t just move yourself about until you find the right degree of shade to suit, as you might in a larger garden. What plants you choose and how you manage them over time can all affect the gradations of light and shade in your patch.

In summer, a deciduous vine (Parthenocissus quinquefolia, or Virginia creeper, say) spreading across the top of a pergola above an outdoor dining table can provide solid protection from midday sun, but let that vine cascade down the sides and it might provide some respite from the late afternoon sun too. As its leaves start to drop in autumn, its shade can become more dappled, and then when the woody vine is bare in winter, the table will be bathed in sun.

Pots also offer flexibility – and not just because they can be moved about. Summer flowers (tall kangaroo paws, for example) might not immediately come to mind when thinking about creating shade, but grow them in containers on outdoor windowsills and they can behave like gauzy curtains, moderating the light indoors when the sun hits them at certain angles.

For impatient gardeners, it’s hard to look past climbers that grow hard and fast over the course of a single summer (Scarlet runner beans, for example, and, in cool and temperate climates, choko) before going dormant for winter. It’s still too early to plant these, but another way you can create shade quickly is to remove the lower branches of a mature tree you already have, allowing you to sit below it.

Just the look of shadows can animate a garden.Credit: Megan Backhouse

The great thing about shade, though, is that sometimes you don’t need to physically experience it to enjoy it. Just the mere look of filtered light can change the mood. Variations in light and shade animate gardens. The balance between the two is always shifting, which plays up the passage of time. That is something the shade of a building will never do.

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