The twinkle lights worked only a few times. Kinda frustrating they didn’t last.
How do I get shade over my patio without making it too dark inside?
Last summer we built an enclosure around the patio on the back of my house, which is the south side. I want to give the patio more shade without completely blocking light from the windows leading into the house. Is a pergola my best bet?
This is the side where my climbing rose is growing up the outside.
The sails really didn’t do so well over the long haul. So I feel like I need to do something else to get shade.
I now have a climbing rose growing up on the side of the patio and a wisteria on the long wall of the enclosure.
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A pergola was going to be my suggestion. It's not a solid roof so it lets light through.
The structure you have would not carry the weight of a pergola. You would need to install separate posts. A pergola with the sun sails would give you added shade but not block all the light.
YES
Google Deck Sails. Millions of options. Reasonable, removable and changeable.
Just an observation - your current structure isn't sturdy enough for Wisteria and probably not strong enough for a climbing rose. You'll need a lot more support than 2 x 4's and eight foot spans of lattice.
You could try a fast growing vine over the top. If you put string supports across for it to grow on, you should have a leafy sunshade by summer.
We put up rope lights on a timer. They have worked for over a year and are very cheap at amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rope+lights&i=garden&ref=nb_sb_noss
I built a strong, permanent awning support around my patio using galvanized aluminum plumbing parts. The supports were either sunk into quickcrete or drilled into the patio deck concrete itself. I planted trumpet vines at the "entrance" posts to that area. They grow extremely fast and I trained them to go up and across all the top supports.
This allowed dappled sunlight onto the porch along with any breeze. The flowers were beautiful AND I had hummingbirds all the time. The even built a nest right next to the chair I always sat in!