A garden is a great way to have some space outside the home to relax, but what to do if your garden area is a hot spot in your home? How can you make it a more inviting and relaxing space to be on those warm summer days?
It may sound odd to talk about cooling your garden down, but if your area isn’t well designed, or has been neglected, it can certainly be a place that invites heat rather than repels it. There are however some great garden makeovers and ideas that you can easily put into place to make your garden cooler, and greener, this summer.
Add more trees and plants
Trees and plants are a great way to keep your garden cool and of course, make it greener. Tall leafy plants can provide plenty of shade for you to relax in or to keep your children out of the sun when playing outside. They can make a great area to sit in, particularly on those hot summer days.
When it comes to making it “green” though – you don’t need to just stick with green leaves. You can choose plants that flower, bringing a great aesthetic to your backyard, or grow trees that fruit. So what to choose?
Depending on where you live and how much room you have, trees like the red maple, and the tulip tree are a great addition to your backyard – but you do need a lot of space as these trees can grow to 10m+. For smaller spaces, a blueberry ash, a little gem magnolia, or callistemons can provide both colour and shade.
The Mount Gambier Garden Centre stocks a range of flowering plants while the Gardenarium has a number of rare plants as well as advanced trees ready to go.
Reduce hard landscaping
If your garden is full of concrete, tiles and rocks with little to no greenery, it will be a much hotter place to be. These materials absorb heat and then, as day turns into night, release it back into the garden, which means that it will be hot even at night.
There are two ways that you can deal with this. You can either remove them and replace the concrete and tiles with grassed areas, or green up the space using large, leafy plants.
Install a gazebo or pergola
Now if trees aren’t your thing, or you have a big backyard, you may consider installing a gazebo or pergola. These structures give you shade, and can really help create another outdoor living space to enjoy, whether it’s simply relaxing after work, or hosting a summer BBQ.
Choose a structure that suits your home build, and your personal style, and position it in the best possible spot for views, shade and shelter.
Include a water feature
Water features are a great way to cool your backyard down, attract local wildlife and give you a place to relax. The sound of lightly running water is inviting, and if you have a water feature that is big enough, you can even double it as a fish pond. Backyard water features can help to cool the immediate area by up to three degrees, and while that may not seem like a lot, when you combine one with plants that provide shade, they are certainly worth installing.
A water feature can also help to break up hard landscaping, and they don’t need to be boring. Beneficially, you also don’t need to spend a lot of money on installing a water feature, and they can suit a whole range of yard sizes from townhouses through to free standing homes.
Install a pool
So this one is for those with a higher budget and the space, but a pool is a great way to cool down the backyard during summer. The best thing is that there is almost a pool for all backyard sizes. There are some great small pools now available, from those made out of shipping containers to inflatable spas that are perfect for relaxing at the end of the week. If this has been on your radar for a while, it’s certainly worth talking to a local company like Donehue’s Leisure to see what might be available to fit into your space and budget.
Buying, selling or renting in Mount Gambier? Talk to us
The Limestone Coast is a great place to live, and the friendly team at Complete Real Estate can help you find your new home, or sell your current home.
