What's the Best Way to Add Quick Shade to My Orlando Backyard?

It’s hot out there, and you don’t have time to move to Michigan to get out of the Florida sun.

So, how to shade your backyard?

Build a pretty pergola, tie some cool shade sails overhead or enjoy deep shade with a towering, leafy tree.

Ground Source landscape designer Eric Frisch talks details about three cool backyard shade ideas.

Keep reading to learn more:

• Plan a Pergola
• Shelter Under Shade Sails
• Turn to a Towering Tree

Plan a Pergola

A pergola adds an instant design upgrade to your outdoor space, offers the perfect entertaining spot and, oh yeah, offers shade.

These outdoor shade structures feature slatted or lattice-style roofs, supported by sturdy posts.

They’re one of the most versatile options when it comes to landscaping for shade, because you can pop a pergola pretty much anywhere:

Close to your kitchen for easy entertaining. Shading your patio or deck for lounging. As a garden getaway elsewhere on your property, away from the hustle and bustle of your house. Out by the pool for perfect shelter after a dip.

Sure, a pergola is among the best backyard shade ideas, but you can boost its appeal even more:

• Grow pretty fragrant vines up the posts
• Hang plants from overhead
• Cover the whole thing in twinkling white lights that make it look magical after sunset, when it becomes a perfect spot for entertaining.

Shelter Under Shade Sails

Shade sails are canvas or mesh shades attached to structures with stainless steel hardware so they cover and shade an area.

They’re often triangular, but they’re available in other shapes, too.

Use one solo, or get creative and layer several for more coverage and an innovative design statement.

Will these work in your landscaping for shade? It depends, Frisch says.

“With metal poles and colorful fabric, they may not be for everyone,” he says, noting they can give off a “school playground” vibe that may not fit a more subdued, elegant landscape design.

But their bright colors and sailboat feel can add a burst of design energy as well as offering shade. If your backyard is often full of frolicking kids or casual backyard barbecues, they’ll fit right in.

“One thing good about sails is that they can be taken down for hurricane prep,” Frisch says. That pergola will have to fend for itself.

Turn to a Towering Tree

Nature has an obvious answer to the need for shade — trees.

Growing a sheltering shade tree isn’t exactly quick. But instant shade tree installation is possible, Frisch says, if you’re willing to spend the money on a mature tree, and your property has access for large machinery to install it.

The maximum trunk size for a container or field-grown tree for landscape installation is about five inches in diameter, he says, which will give you a tree about 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide.

While live oaks are among the best shade trees for Orlando, with wide, shady canopies, Frisch suggests the Queen palm for quick tropical shade.

“Queen palms are probably the best palm option for the money and canopy width,” Frisch says. They don't cost as much as other shade trees like oaks for a fairly mature tree.

Queen palms offer the widest canopy of any of the fast-growing palms, Frisch says, and work great planted as a grouping for an even wider shady canopy.

Ground Source crews doing shade tree installation heavily stake bigger trees with boards so they don't fall over while the roots get established.

If you want a 20-foot Queen palm and have access for the heavy machinery, you’ll have instant shade in no time.

Other options for the best shade trees for Orlando:

Live Oak

This beauty is the most common Florida shade tree for a reason.

It’s native, very hardy, and offers a wide shady canopy.

American Sycamore

This tree has huge leaves that drop in the fall, so they’re a bit messy, but those same big leaves offer great shade from the hot Florida sun.

D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia

Mature magnolias are stunning.

Wide, open branches. Glossy green leaves with coppery undersides. Gorgeous cup-shaped flowers.

How to Shade Your Backyard? Trust Ground Source

Craving shade?

Our creative designers will sit down with you to talk about shade trees and landscape installation in Central Florida to create your perfect plan for backyard shade.

Don’t sweat it. We make it all easy, from start to finish.

We’re landscaping experts, but our skills don’t stop there. We’re with you every step of the way as you plan your perfect outdoor space.

Sod, irrigation, landscape design: Let us transform your landscape from an embarrassing eyesore to a place you spend every spare minute.

Are you ready to enjoy the vibrant, impressive landscape you've always wanted? Request a quote today! We’ll help you review your options and then transform your property.

Image Sources | Southern Magnolia, American Sycamore, Live Oak