Planting Trees and Shrubs for

Shade and Wind Control

Plants add natural beauty and keep the air supply clean by trapping dust,

consuming carbon, and making oxygen. But adding some leafy vegetation can

give you some other perks as well.

With growth fueled by the sun, plant cells are Mother Nature’s original solar

cells — and you can harness the power of landscaping to provide shade and

keep you cool. By planting deciduous trees and shrubs, you can work the sun

to your advantage in both summer and winter. The leaves provide shade in

the summer, and the bare branches let sunlight in during cold winter months.

And by planting trees around your house, you can also increase or decrease

the breezes through the house. This section tells you how.

Planting for your day in the shade

Thermal mass is the amount of heat energy a substance can hold. Bricks,

concrete, stones, and the like hold a lot of heat. Wooden decks are pretty good

at it as well. So if the sun shines on a concrete patio, that patio is going to be

hot most of the night. But landscape bark, mulch, and plants don’t hold much

heat at all. If sun shines on landscape bark all day, there won’t be much stored

energy at the end of the day, and the temperature goes down reasonably fast.

So a bit of strategic planting can help you create some cool spots.

 A wall or roof that’s shaded from a tree or shrub can be 20°F cooler than the

same thing in full sun. On a hot summer day, the air temperature under a tree

can be 25°F cooler than on nearby blacktop.

 Big windows to the south of your house are the best location for shade planting.

Sliding glass doors or big, wide doors of any kind are best of all. Also plant for

summer shade over high-thermal-mass patios, porches, sidewalks, wooden

and synthetic decks, and so on. The closer to the house, the better. Choosing

deciduous plants — which shed their leaves in the fall — ensures summer

shade and winter warming