How to get a front-yard a good place to stay ?

Hi to everybody.

It is March now.

In a few weeks, it will be time to start enjoying staying out in the front-yard.

The daylight will start to get longer and longer, temperatures will get milder, the grass will turn out to be green again, leaves will blow from the plants' branches, etc.

The problem is: how to get a front-yard a good place to stay despite the temperatures that will steadily increase through the monthes to eventually get too hot, despite the sunrays that will get stronger and stronger and despite those annoying insects such as the unfortunately well known "asian tiger mosquito" that unlike the common mosquitos are active even during the daylight.

In Britain have you the "asian tiger mosquito" ?

In Italy, we unfortunately have, since this insect landed in Italy, namely in the Genoa harbour, in the 90s, being it brought by those big ships coming from the tropical asian countries.

I mean: any suggestion, how to cope with hot temperatures, strong sunrays and annoying insects ?

I know that in Britain you have not such hot temperatures as we in Italy have.

But sometimes you have (or had) too.

What to do, to enjoy your front-yard even in such "extreme" condition ?

Any suggestions ?

Verandah ???

"Umbrella-like trees" to place in the middle of the front yard ???

Plants that keep annoying insects away ???

What else ??????

Suggestions are very welcomed

 

Hi Maksim,

Usually just keep in the shade on the one day over here:D

A water feature, maybe a small fountain might be a nice idea. Makes you feel cooler, even if it doesn't actually make you cooler.

We haven't got the Asian mosquito yet as far as I know, we do have the anophalies mosquito. Fortunately they are not infected with malaria yet.

When I was working in Turkey, we had a dining area in the yard that was enclosed by a huge insect mesh. It had dappled shade & the breeze blew through it. Very pleasant.

 

Hi Ziggy !
A small fountain it might be an idea.
I consider three things:
SUNRAYS
HEAT
INSECTS
To cope with SUNRAYS, I think about a big tree's foliage as it were an umbrella, I think a about a wide beach-umbrealla, a garden-umbrella, a verandah, etc.
To cope with heat, other than a fountain, I think that something moving the air - as it were a big fan - it would be needed (but I can't immagine something like that in a garden...).
To cope with insects, it would be needed some plants that have a smell that keep annoying insects far away. I don't know...
The British people could suggest me somethink since, although they live in a cool country, they have however a long colony tradition when they had an Empire in many tropical asian and african countries such as India, Kenya (I guess) and others.:D
Not to mention that they still have overseas countries ( in the Caribean, for example, the Virgin Islands).:D
Furthermore, many of them have their holydays in southern Spain, in Portugal and in the Canary Islands. So they know what high temperatures are all about...:D
And maybe, some british people have their own holyday home at the Virgin Islands, Costa del Sol, Algavre, Las Palmas and what-have-you. And maybe they have also a front-yard in this home... :D
So, they maybe can suggest me something how to arrange a garden to be a nice place to stay despite the extreme summer condition... :WINK1:

 

Maybe you could borrow an idea from Arabic countries, they have tall towers designed to catch the breeze & funnel it down to ground for cooling.

If you could have a fan blowing through some damp cloth, the water cools the air as it evaporates. A canadian friend said their air conditioning is based on that. The cloth or hessian needs a constant drip to keep it damp.

As for insects, spray all your bushes with spray glue, that'll be the last place they would land, ever

 

[size=large]A nice kiwi pergola worked fine with us in Italy for many years.

I can't stand the heat and I use a little spray on my face every ten minutes, aside of course from plenty of iced drinks. I know that they say hot tea cools you down. Perhaps I will try it in my next life...
[/size]

 

Hot black tea with sugar.

 

I also think to those forest alike parks where very tall and big trees (say: big platanus) form a sort of high roof upon our heads, making the alleys, the benches and the lawns underneath some lovely places to stay.
It would be lovely to manage to reproduce that condition.
But, of course, we have not enough room in our front yards to place a group of platanus 15 or 20 yards tall.
I also think of the shadow made by those platanus in rows in the aveneus or alleys.
I absolutely want to find a solution because I never can enjoy my front-yard.
In winter I cannot because it is snow covered or ice covered.
In spring and autumn I can but only provided it is not raining.
In summer, absolutely not as the air temperature at 35 C and the ferocious sunrays make you escape indoor where the air conditioning is running and the window-shutters are down.
Otherwise, yes, a pergola...
...and as many plants as possible to have as much shadow as possible...
In May the air temperature is fine. But the sunrays is strong...
The strong light due to the high insolation makes you feel like you have been "punched"...
In October the air temperature is fine too, but the daylight is short and as the sun set the temperaure drops quickly...
I will read all your suggestions and I will think it over in order to find a solution...
I also think to the lovely conditions in those arabesque cloisters that you may find in Andalusia...
...and, if I am not wrong, sometimes they have also a fountain in the middle...

 

How about painting the masonry black. That would reduce the glare during the day and make the masonry absorb the heat during the day so it would take the chill off the yard in the evening as the sun goes down.

From what I remember from your part of Italia, everything is painted white, I remember what that does to your eyes, far too bright.

Bamboo matting as a shade would help.

If its that hot in the summer, have you considered a thermal store to save the summers heat for heating your house in the winter ?

 

How about, for cooling shade, a fountain up wind of the prevailing breeze. That way you'll occassionally get cool spray blown at you. A pergola or even a simple parasol could provide the shade.

Then when the evening gets cool, that's when its barbecue time. A charcoal burning barbecue makes great food, but it also stays hot for hours, taking the chill off the air. I really love late summer barbies.

I know a variation of this that is very refreshing on a hot summers day (the few that we get in the UK). I pinched the idea from Morrocan tea.

You take a teapot, and fill it half full with fresh mint. Add about 4 heaped tablespoons of sugar, and about 4 teaspoons of green tea. Add hot water and stir, leave it to brew until it is quite cool. Drink it when it is just warmer than room temperature. The mint makes it so refreshing, and the sugar and the tea replace all that energy that the heat saps away from us.

 

That sounds good Dave, you'll have to remind us of that one when the hot day comes. I'm hoping its going to be at the weekend this year.

 

You get a whole day in your area? That's not fair.

 

Make sure its the day you come down here for a holiday

Got your intinery lined up for you already & you'll need a further holiday to get over it

While we're on the subject, where would be the best place to have a GC meet up this year ?

I know many of us will be heading to the West Country for a holiday, Melplash Show any good for members ?

Sorry Maksim, I shouldn't hijack your thread, perhaps I should make a new one:DOH:

 

Hello Maksim , for a dappled shade my favourite is what you see in Greece . A pergola type framework with grape vines growing over it . They are really pleasant to sit under.

Also - I can't believe no one has mentioned a nice cold beer ! it works for me
Also - does a hot drink really help you cool down ?


[size=x-small]Save the sinkers ![/size]

 

[size=large]That would be a wonderful idea Ziggy. I belong to an Italian Gardening forum where they meet several times a year and they not only spend a nice day together, do picnics and stuff, but they get to exchange plants and seeds and of course talk about gardening. Though I am not good at planning longtime ahead because with three children you kind of have to improvise! But I will bear in mind the events, should I be able to attend.[/size]