Outdoor Shade Ideas for Your Garden, Deck, Patio and Porch

On hot summer days, your indoor spaces can feel hotter than outdoor ones. But only if you can hide in the shade. So how can you introduce more shade into your garden, deck, patio or porch? Here are 9 imaginative shade ideas for creating outdoor retreats from the summer heat.

Parachute Cover

Army Navy Surplus Stores carry white parachutes that make perfect and super-cheap outdoor shades. Suspend the parachute over tent poles or 8 foot garden polls, or hang it from a tree. Be sure to buy cheap cords at the Army Navy Surplus Store for suspending your parachute on a budget.

Laundry Basket Umbrella Stands

For a deck, patio or a fun garden idea, create unconventional umbrella stands that take up as little space as possible. Spray paint a plastic laundry basket in a bright color that matches your umbrella, then fill it with rocks (sold in bags at home centers).

Buried Garden Umbrella

Try using a good old-fashioned patio umbrella in a new way. In your garden, bury the bulky umbrella stand in the ground to free up the shady area under your umbrella. Reseed the area with lawn, if needed. Or cover the ground with mulch, then place two comfy garden chairs in the shade.

Colorful Tarp Cover

Stretch a colorful blue tarp over your garden. At the paint section of a home improvement store look for blue trap in a size that fits your garden needs. Suspend the tarp with tent poles or 8-foot garden hook bird-feeder polls.

Garden Arch

Stretch a yellow emergency blanket between two garden arches to create an elongated shady spot anywhere in your garden. Space the garden arches based on the length of the blanket. Then fold the blanket to match the width of the arches. Stretch the blanket between the arches and staple or sew it to their arched tops.

Shady Trees

Trim the lower branches off trees in your garden and rake away overgrown vegetation. Tidying shady spots can clear away insects and make the area more inviting. Add a beautiful garden chair or spray paint affordable plastic chairs in bright colors like red or purple, which stand out in the shade.

Folding Gazebo

Much cheaper than their wooden counterparts, folding gazebos are a cross between tents and permanent garden furniture. In a few minutes you can put a gazebo up anywhere in your garden or on your patio or deck.

Fruity Shade

Plant apple trees in large wood planters and position them in a sunny spot of your garden. Follow these steps to help the trees growth quickly and yield more fruit. In a year or two you’ll have a shady spot, where you can pick fruit straight off the tree.

Swings with Canopies

A porch swing or glider that comes with a canopy overhead offers you an instant way to add comfort and shade to your garden, porch, patio or deck. Less pricey than large folding gazebos, the swings typically come in two to three person sizes with a free standing canopy overhead.

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