How To Create Shade In Garden

How to Provide Shade in a Small Yard

Check out these 7 ideas for planning a compact yard that catches the sun but also has a shady area

Amanda Pollard

July 16, 2021

Senior Content Editor at Houzz UK and Ireland. Journalist and editor specialising in interiors and architecture.

In a compact yard, it can be tricky to provide sunny and shaded spots, but there are ways to do it. Take a look at these seven gorgeous examples to see how to create a cool-off zone in your own little outdoor space.

1. Create a Green Canopy

On this deck, climbing vines will grow up the pergola and across the wire rows to soften the building and shade the dining area. As an alternative, you could use wood slats to run across the pergola frame.

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2. Layer Leafy Plantings

Give your small patio a cool, tranquil vibe by densely surrounding it with large-leaved plants. Go for a few tall specimens to create overhead shade and supplement them with midlevel and ground-cover foliage.

3. Plant a Tree

We often think that we shouldn't clutter up a tiny yard with big plants, but a tree can, in fact, work well. Large proportions actually can help make a yard feel bigger. With this in mind, it pays to plant a tree in your compact space to provide an area of shade.

Pretty Trees for Patios, Paths and Other Tight Spots

4. Build an Outdoor Room

This patio is entirely in shade since the owners turned it into an outdoor room. The corrugated roof on the wooden structure shelters it from the sun's strong afternoon rays.

If you can extend the footprint beyond the roof, you can enjoy the best of both worlds.

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5. Put Seating Against a Fence

The easiest way to create a shaded spot is to push seating right up against the wall or fence that gets the least amount of sun. Tucking it into a leafy border is even better since the plants will help form a natural canopy.

This outdoor dining area is ideal since there's enough room for a few people on the built-in bench — even more can pull up a seat on the other side of the table.

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6. Install a Pergola

A pergola is an elegant option for shading a yard, even in a small space. A wooden structure like this one is lovely in itself and even more beautiful with plants growing over it.

The lattice overhead structure on this pergola goes well with the modern farmhouse design in the rest of the space, and it allows slivers of light to filter through to the area below.