If you’re ready to never spend another sweltering day on your patio this summer, here are 7 landscape design suggestions for warm-weather landscaping in Bedford, NH. These ideas will keep things cool and comfortable, and prevent constantly running indoors to beat the heat.
Unless your property is heavily treed, the best way to reduce the temperature is to add a permanent outdoor shade structure.
One of the most beloved permanent outdoor structures is the pergola. With completely open sides and a roof made up of open rafters, you can enjoy the shade on your patio or deck while hot air easily escapes.
A more weatherproof structure is the pavilion (attached to a patio or deck) or gazebo (freestanding since it contains a floor). These shelter structures also have open sides, but they feature solid roofs which offer shelter from sudden downpours.
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To make a pergola, pavilion, or gazebo even more comfortable during the sweltering summers, you could make a few additions to the south and west sides to block any sunlight that would make the space uncomfortable during the hottest part of the day. And, there are a few other techniques you could use to make space feel cooler than the surroundings.
1. Add outdoor curtains on all sides of your shelter structure. Keep them tied back on three sides to keep the breeze flowing, only closing the curtains on the sunny side. Choose lighter fabric colors that won’t absorb heat.
2. Add a lattice screen on the south or west side. This will still allow airflow, but less sunlight will filter in. For a more complete sunblock, you could grow vines along with the lattice screen.
3. Add a fountain or other water feature on the south or west side. While you won’t get any direct benefit from a water feature outside of the shelter structure, moving water does cool the air.
4. Add a retractable shade to a pergola. Some pergolas have rafters that are spaced widely apart, which almost negates the shade effect during midday. You can mitigate this by adding a retractable shade which you can close while the sun is beating down, and open again later to release the hot air.
5. Add climbing vines to a pergola (the traditional way to add shade to a pergola). Grapes, clematis, wisteria, hydrangea, honeysuckle, ivy, or climbing roses happily make their way up the structure to eventually cover the roof. Air will still flow through, but the leaves will block the sun. The downside to this approach is leaves, flowers, and fruit messes that can accumulate below.
6. Add a ceiling fan. An outdoor fan not only helps you keep cool, but it also helps keep insects away even on the stillest day when the air hangs heavy with humidity. While hot air already rises through the rafters of the pergola, a fan will encourage air movement. Be sure to use an outdoor fan that is capable of rotating in both directions (not all fans are) so you can experiment with the best fan direction. In the heat of summer, the counterclockwise rotation will direct airflow down to you. The cool air creates a wind-chill effect, making the air feel several degrees cooler than the surrounding air. If your outdoor kitchen is situated in the pergola, encourage hot air to rise up and out of the pergola with a clockwise rotation.
7. Add misters all the way around the structure. This will require plumbing, but the evaporative cooling that you experience within your shelter structure while the misters are going is nothing short of miraculous. Misters in conjunction with a ceiling fan is the ultimate in comfort.
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