A cool garden in the summer: this is how you do it

29 Mar 2024Updated: 4 hours ago | 52 people are reading

A cool garden in the summer: this is how you do it

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The weather forecast is good, and those who want to freshen up the garden or even give it a complete metamorphosis, would do well to think ahead. What can you do now to keep your garden cool in the summer? NU.nl obtained advice from two experts.

"The majority of people do not want to be constantly in the bright sun," Léon Jacobs of the gardener Rodenburg Tuinen starts. "You can then work with a shade cloth, or a pergola construction. But we actually find it much better to work in greenery."

Jacobs cites roof trees as an example. "If you place several of them next to each other, you get a beautiful shade. If you put a lounge set underneath that, you have a lot more atmosphere than with a sunshade that protrudes 5 meters from your house. In addition, you help nature . "

When decorating gardens, paving is still a common choice today. This is easy in terms of maintenance, but there are also disadvantages. "Street work not only retains heat: it can also cause problems during a downpour. With a grass mat or plants you can direct the water in a certain direction, as it were."

Heat-resistant plants

< p> Gardener Rik Barten of Vallei Groen can confirm this. "I like to work with perennials that can withstand drought and grow nicely. Roses still need a lot of maintenance, but salvia can handle heat well and you need to prune very little."

Barten does not immediately recommend building a pond. "In full sun you get a lot of algae growth, which is quite difficult to keep tidy. With a larger natural pond you have enough biodiversity, but I would advise against a smaller water in the sun. Unless you want to put more energy into it. "

According to Barten, more and more types of roof trees are coming onto the market and green roofs can also be a good solution against the heat. "That's great if you want to build a veranda."

Green roofs as a cool down

"Sedum roofs are beautiful", Jacobs also thinks. "Such a flat roof with gravel or a piece of black plastic can also get very hot. My garage is covered with sedum plants and that saves 12 degrees in the summer."

And here too plants can help to counteract of flooding. "Such a plant can absorb a lot of water in the leaves. In the meantime, it can also do without water for months. So you don't have to worry about it anymore."

The installation still has some snags, although it shouldn't be too hard to think about. "You can buy a few linear meters of sedum mats at a nursery," explains Jacobs. "You just have to make sure you have the right thickness, and pay attention to the type of substrate."

This nutrient medium must ensure that the plants adhere well. "You have to wet it a few times, so that the roots are fully absorbed", says Jacobs.

"You can completely pave your garden and put up a wooden fence," says Barten. Or you can, for example, make a yard separation with a hedge and a piece of lawn and a few roof trees. Then you suddenly get a completely different picture. And the greener the garden, the more cooling you have. "