Are Shade Sails the Best Way to Provide Shading in Your Garden?
There are plenty of ways to create a shaded patch in your garden if you want it. For example, you might choose to plant a tree which will develop a large canopy under which it will be more comfortable to sit. You could install awnings that come down from the side of your home and extend out over a patio area. Some people will opt for a pergola through which vines can be grown. All of these ideas will provide some degree of shade, but none are as complete in their approach as shade sails. What makes them so good at providing shade in gardens?
Get Shade Where You Need It
To begin with, shade sails can be installed just about anywhere you like to provide shade in the exact location that will suit you best. If you compare them to awnings, which are not free-standing, then you will soon realise just how much more flexible they are. In other words, you can fit them away from your home and set them at an angle that will mean you obtain shade in the morning as well as the evening no matter where the sun happens to be in the sky. This is why they are so popular in playgrounds and retirement homes, after all. They offer just the same degree of precision and flexibility in shading privately owned gardens, too.
Robust Designs For Year-Round Use
Although trees and shrubs are often seen as a natural alternative to shade sails, they will not always provide adequate shading in the winter months. This is the case even with evergreen plants which won't always have sufficient foliage to keep you out of the winter sun. Equally, other shade-making structures you might put up will not always be able to withstand rainy or windy conditions. This is why awnings are retractable, after all — so that they don't get damaged when the weather turns nasty. However, because shade sails are made to be out permanently, they have a strong framework that is usually made from steel. Their fabrics are also commonly made from high-strength, anti-rip materials which can put up with all weather conditions.
Protect Yourself From Ultraviolet Light
The fabrics used in modern shade sails are not there simply to provide durability and longevity. They will also filter out ultraviolet rays from the sun. Dappled light falling through leaves won't offer such a high degree of protection. Not all materials will block all the ultraviolet light that hits them, either, which is what you want from a high-quality shade sail.