As more and more Lexington and Brookline, MA, areas homeowners are looking for ways to spend extra time outside, having enough shade in the yard can make that time much more pleasant. These landscape design tips can provide enough shade for the spring and summer so that you can enjoy time outside even in the hottest part of the summer.
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Patios
When you start with a gorgeous stone patio, adding shade features just got a lot more diverse. Many homes only come with a small concrete square that is called a patio but doesn’t provide enough space for your entertaining and outdoor needs. Your landscape design specialist can remedy that for you with an expanded, custom-laid stone floor.
Durable and available in many luxurious shades, stone can be the ideal surface for spending time outside because it does not get hot, withstands the harsh weather, and can be easily cleaned when needed. You can choose the shape of the stone patio so that it complements the way your home sits within the property, from a circular space to a rectangular or a specialized shape that is unique to your yard.
Add a Cover
Your landscaper can add a delightful pergola to one end of the patio where you can relax beneath the dappled shade. A pergola is a structure that is most often made of four wood posts with wood beams to cross the top but can be constructed of steel posts and slats, too. The posts typically sit on bulky stone bases that give physical and visual weight to the pergola. Your landscaper can build the bases to hold vines that flowers that climb up the posts and give both shade and floral color to your landscape. A pergola can be a perfect spot for a hanging bed or weather-proof outdoor couches.
Another option can be to have your landscape specialist plan a full roof over the patio so that your outdoor plans are not hindered by the weather. With a high, gabled roof as a covering, you can incorporate ceiling fans for extra breezes while maintaining that spacious outdoor feel. Because the space will be covered, you can incorporate any type of media such as a sound system and TV as well as lighting for the later times of the day.
Landscape Design
A landscape specialist can assess your yard for adding trees that will grow to provide shade once they mature, choosing to use larger sizes from the initial planting so that your shade comes quicker to the landscape.
If expanding the patio is not in your budget, they can build a trellis on the side of your patio that receives the harsh sun. Because a trellis has space between the wood connections, you can still feel the breezes but the hot rays of the sun will be muted by the wood.
Similar to a pergola, a trellis can be the perfect spot for climbing vines to add colorful floral beauty to the space while also shading the patio. They can add a bubbling stone fountain or a water wall or any type of water feature home to enhance the delight you feel in your new outdoor space that provides a comfortable and beautiful place for you to relax.
