This is actually about sunshine and shade. How to utilize plants to shade your house from our summer heat yet allow sunshine to warm it during the cooler winter months.

Canopy trees (trees that produce considerable shade) planted around your home at least 25 ft from the foundation will shade your home's roof and walls and decrease air-conditioning costs through the hottest months of the year (May-September). They will also cool the outside air and allow you to leave your windows open longer in the spring and reopen them sooner in the fall. Deciduous canopy trees (trees that lose their leaves in the winter) give the added advantage of summer shade, yet allow the sun to warm the walls and roof during the winter months.

Shade trees planted on the southern and western sides of your home will cool the building mass from the afternoon sun and the build up of heat over the course of the day. Do not remove a shade tree's lower branches, since they effectively block late the searing late afternoon sunlight that floods through the windows on the west or northwest side of your home. If you plant a ten to twelve foot canopy tree such as live oak, laurel oak, Florida elm or maple, and water it well for 3 years, it will grow into a 25 foot shade tree in 6 to 8 years.

Driveways and concrete pool areas become large heat sinks in the summer months. The interior of your car will become broiling hot when left on an unshaded driveway. If you plant evergreen trees such as conifers or hollies next to the driveway or pool area, you will have fewer problems with dropped leaves. Since these are slower g rowing trees, it will probably take about 6 years before your driveway or pool area is partially shaded.

Large shrubs (six to twelve feet tall) and smaller trees (to about 18 ft.) can also effectively shade outside walls. On the east side they will block the early morning summer sun and on the south and west side, the full force of the afternoon and early evening sun. Both should be planted at least six to eight feet away from the edge of the foundation to give them ample room to grow and take advantage of natural rainfall. Young shrubs of sea grape, cocoplum, wax myrtle, Walter's viburnum, Florida privet, firebush or Simpson's stopper will grow tall enough to shade sidewalls in two or three seasons. Small trees such as dahoon holly, little gem magnolia or sea grape (trained as a tree) will also provide shade in two or three seasons.

It is not a good idea to plant vines to climb up your walls, or place trellis work or strings against the side walls and train vines on them. One problem is that you trap moisture and humidity against the walls and foundation of your home. Vegetation so close to the home may attract insect pests that can cause structural damage to the building. It also encourages pests to enter your home in search of food and shelter. Vines on walls also make it impossible to paint or wash your walls.

Vines can be used to create shade when trained on trellis "walls". This is especially effective along the sides of your home where there is often not enough room to plant taller growing shrubs and small trees. Build these at least two feet inside your property line so that the vines will not flow over the top and through the lattice onto your neighbor's property. Four by eight foot sheets of lattice framed with one by twos and then nailed to the upper end of eight foot tall posts is an inexpensive design that will cover large sections of side yard. Vines will climb up and through it by the end of the first or second growing season.

During the summer months it is also important to remember that the air conditioning unit should be shaded to maximize its cooling potential. Plant a large shrub or small tree on the west side of the unit. A trellis and vine can do the same thing in a limited space. Plant now and our long growing season will reward you with shade before you melt.