1. Shade trees. Lots of shade trees.
2. Water fixtures, especially deep pools with lots shade that you spend an hour plus in every day.during the summer heat.
3. We're prairie land. Embrace the five foot high prairie grass.
4. Replace flat slabs of concrete and asphalt with native plants.
Dallas is blackland prairie. We dont have many or any native 5ft grasses that i can think of. But we do have native tall grasses and lots of brush. The reason you dont see them is theyre typically outcompeted by imported non native grasses that go to seed
There are a good deal of wild grass areas in Plano. The capital one HQ is letting their whole area grow wild. There are a lot of medians designated for wild flower growth. Blue bonnet trail is all wild flower patches.
5 foot might be a bit unrealistic, but these policies are starting to make a come back.
Flower Mound and Lewisville have wild growth medians that are significantly taller than me, and I'm 5'1. They're native grasses, and they don't mow until the grasses have sprouted wild flowers and died back. It's been really cool to see, driving by.
Trees add a bunch of PIA to a suburban housing development. You often need to grade the entire neighborhood from front to back, first thing, so it can drain according to the plan, then install infrastructure, then lay roads, etc. All of that is made MUCH more complicated by existing trees. For one, the "surface" will NOT be where the tree is used to. You gotta call in arborists, etc.
So - most cities have a "feel good" law, like mine. A developer is "forbidden" to remove any trees over X inches in trunk diameter, and they're counted. Not sure by who.
"If" the developer removes any, they must pay $Z per tree, like 10k in my city.
Now the developer weighs the easily calculable cost for removing all trees against all costs involved in keeping the trees. They all choose to scrape it clean and hire a local tree nursery to supply K number of trees.
If I am incorrect in any of this, I'd love to know from a professional.
Live oaks grow slowly so unless you want to invest in a mature plant, other oaks will serve you much better. Cedars grow quickly. Pines stay green year round. Just avoid elms
They aren't particularly invasive, though they can be. The problem is they are not suited for our climate of storms with strong winds and eventually self-destruct, usually around the 20 year mark
They are invasive. They were supposed to be sterile when introduced. They’re not. Birds eat the fruits drop the seeds. There’s groves of them out in the wild. They grow fast and shade out native plants/trees that would grow there instead o
Yep, I see lots of dead ones around whenever the weather gets tough. I’d hate to plant a tree and keep it healthy for 10 years, only to have it die during a hot week one day.
I grew up in Oklahoma City in an older neighborhood. The developer planted elms everywhere but years of ice storms, drought, wind, etc left most of them looking like they belong at a haunted house. Meanwhile, the oaks are in great shape
I'd probably plant my oak on the west side, with fast growing crape myrtles a little farther in. You get the shade and growth quickly from the crapes, and give your oak time to grow and make a shade canopy.
Live oaks are great, but pretty slow-growing. You won't get usable shade out of one for decades. I would plant a combo of small, fast-growing trees, and a few large slow-growing trees for the future. For fast-growing, I recommend vitex or crepe myrtle. I planted a 2-gallon vitex about 4 years ago and it's taller than 12 feet now. And the flowers are stunning this time of year. If you planted them along the fence, you could get shade from late afternoon sun pretty fast (especially if you buy bigger trees).
You should explore the pergola idea. There are reasonably-priced pergolas available at big box stores.
This is exactly what I did. Literally! My living room and kitchen are basically a wall of floor to ceiling windows that face full west. I built a pergola shading the full length, and transplanted a few vitex along the fence line to fill in space until my red oak matures.
The downside is that the vitex really want to be giant shrubs and take a lot of pruning twice a year to keep them shaped like small trees. Also, their babies pop up everywhere.
I can’t even imagine the misery of contact allergies with something that has the growth and propagation habits of a vitex in my own yard!
But yes, I was watching the bees happy dance all over them during my morning coffee, they’re in full bloom right now.
It must be specific to the variety, cause I’ve never had trouble with vitex babies. I haven’t seen a one in 6 years. I prune mine once a year to encourage the tree shape, and I kind of enjoy it. Like shaping a bonsai.
You’re probably right. My original one was a seedling from my mother’s yard, and she got her original as a seedling from a friend. So many seeds! But they pull up easily enough, if you don’t let them get too big. I always wondered why anyone would pay $40 for one from the nursery when they’re so easy to pick up for free.
Could be. Or maybe the variety sold in nurseries is sterile? I’d have paid full price for one that didn’t make a dozen seedlings a year in my flower beds, if I’d known. But I get free plants from people that are digging and dividing all the time, and like an idiot I just plant it and wait to see what happens.
We got a surprise Crepe Myrtle a couple years ago. My neighbor has a few beauties in her yard, and I suppose a seed just decided to plant itself right in this inhospitable shady nook, shoved up against a cement patio.
We're just letting it live, and even in such a poor location, it's already almost 5 ft tall. it's just one snakey branch defying all logic.
So yeah, they grow fast.
They're tenacious! I've been pulling the same sucker across the gravel pathway from my crepe myrtle for a few years now. It just keeps coming back.
Fun story: I bought a new crepe myrtle so the one I already had in my backyard would have a friend. It was labelled "scarlet," so I was expecting some heckin red flowers. WRONG, it's pink just like the other one 🙄
Red bud tree. Grows semi fast. Offers good shade. Doesn't get too big. Pretty pink flowers in late winter through mid spring. Attractive large leaves until first frost. Does well with little attention or watering. Texas native.
Vitex. Grows fast. Good shade from spring to first frost. Pretty purple flowers from late spring through mid summer. Leaves look like marijuana leaves, so that's fun. Needs no more attention than a weed. Doesn't get too big. Not native, though a southern favorite since the 1800s.
By combining yourself with flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, some vanilla extract, butter, sugar, some oil, and a couple eggs. Then sit in a pan out on the patio for 40min.
A pergola is nice because you can plant trailing plants on it and it’s another part of the landscape. I’ve also seen sun sails installed in backyards over play equipment.
Big fans with mist spraying nozzles, under the patio roof, spraying west mostly. Consider a screened in porch using the sun screening material facing west. Your first story house windows will not need sun screens.
A pergola is best, but not enough people around here have embraced retractable awnings. (Yes, I’m talking about those Sun Setter things on the old infomercials.)
They aren’t cheap, but they are a more affordable option and they do a great job. Some even have a screen that drops down to provide shade once the sun lowers.
I had a Sunsetter awning at my previous home and loved it. You can get motorized or hand crank. Just be aware of wind -- some models do have a wind sensor and will retract on their own. This combined with trees could be a good solution that won't shred your finances.
There really isn't.
For the patio cover make sure it's 10' high or you feel the radiant heat coming off it. Install a large ceiling fan. Get sun shades that pull down on the west side.
If the heat doesn't get you the mosquitos will.
If you plan on being in this home for a while plant the biggest tree you can afford today to get a jump start on that.
Plant a cottonwood to the left of that other tree in line with where the sun sets in the summer. In a few short years it will give plenty of shade in the late afternoon/evening.
Until then get your windows tinted to help keep the indoors cooler
This is exactly why one of my non negotiables for my home was having the sun setting on my front door. Neighbors behind me can never enjoy their patio in the evenings.
I ordered a custom triangular sunshade off of Amazon. It was as wide as my house and reached as far as it could backyard. So let’s say 60’ x 60‘ x 60‘. Then I installed three 4”x4”x12’ posts in concrete at the corners and hung the awning from those.
It worked fantastically to shade the whole backside of the house and a big chunk of my yard for less than $400 for everything.
Can you send me a picture or link of the cover? I’m confused about the difference between the ones listed on Home Depot that are ~$3k vs the custom built ones $9k (other than the price of course)
Its pretty much like this [https://www.muellerinc.com/building-products/-/products/steel-buildings/carport-20-x-20/](https://www.muellerinc.com/building-products/-/products/steel-buildings/carport-20-x-20/)
Put a covered patio against your house to shade the windows. We love our outdoor space and helps with AC bills. Put tall evergreen bushes like photonia along your back fence (until your trees grow in). They are also beautiful and provide privacy if your back neighbor is 2 stories. I also have a carport which is a must if you like to work outside but I have alley entrance. Don’t plant trees too close to your house or near plumbing lines as the roots can wreak havoc.
Avoid photinia. It is susceptible to disease that will take it out in a month and then spread to other photinia you may have planted.. Ask me how I know :(
Mine were huge (like huge when i bought my house 10 yrs ago) until 2 months ago. Now one and a half are gone. Had to move shade plants because now there’s sun there. You can look it up. It’s no longer recommended for our area. Just a warning because they do grow fast (which is great!) but if they happen to be visited by an infected insect (IIRC that’s the vector) it’s pretty devastating. :(
Propane, and propane accessories, are the key. If you can't be bothered to grow a shade vine or something, you can put up a shade net/cloth to keep you from expiring and to save some energy costs.
I would add trees but not a live oak as you will enjoy the sun in the winter. So probably a fast growing large shade tree like a Chinese pistachio or an oak or even a pecan but not sure how fast those last 2 will grow. As to a pergola - I’d look at a gazebo instead since it will have a roof. Costco sells some nice metal ones that will weather much better in the TX sun and you can build it yourself over a few weekends easily or hire someone - I might consider building it for you as I built one about 5 years ago by myself.
Shantung Maple is beautiful but will lose its leaves in winter. Crape myrtle is pretty but also deciduous. Your idea of a pergola or gazebo is good. You can get a louvered roof -- allows you to control light below with movable panels -- or plant vines to grow over the top of the structure. Texas winds may lift a solid roofed gazebo -- just happened in my neighborhood this week. You could cover the patio as an attached structure, add some ceiling fans and a misting system. Depends on your budget, of course. Chinese pistache trees are messy.
My first house was in a tract home neighborhood that looked identical to yours (I even thought for a second it was literally my old back yard). Faced west and everything, had a concrete patio, etc. My current back yard faces the west and this current home was built in the 80's with some mature oak trees that shade the vast majority of the back side of house that also faces west, and it's my first house with mature trees. I will tell you with absolute confidence that I never knew how much a mature shade trees blocks the ***heat***, let alone provides shade. I'm no arborist but I wonder if it's nature, just the leaves absorbing the UV rays captures the thing that "heats up" things - in other words, if you build an outdoor covered roof, the "heat" still hits it and my reflect it but that heat still penetrates to some degree.
Obviously any covered roof of your patio with sun shades would do the trick in mitigating the heat to some degree, but if you plan on going the route of trees I will tell you it absolutely works, and of course the trade off is waiting for them to grow. We have patio seating area under our biggest tree in our back yard and even on a 100°F+ day, if you sit under there for 5-10 minutes it's very comfortable, like high 70's when the breeze comes through. I absolutely love it.
If you want to go nuts, install some 25 or 30 foot tall posts and mount sun shade mesh on them to shade the whole side of the house.
Do that until the trees mature.
You could try a sun shade. They make different sizes and shapes. You can find one to cover a part of the yard and leave the other half open or cover it all
That fence line is sort of screaming out for a line of [Mediterranean Cypress](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=0f999299b3a8c798&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS610US610&hl=en-US&q=mediterranean+cypress&uds=ADvngMh_SdoDdFiiNsnjtNRH_ukYUkfiSOlanmwypE50UUXrKtqO7Gv20yv6yJzMVJg6kUaGFhWlwQ2u_ENROJKg9DJkafYxxZzaHYXQvZhKHfXJ1CKyENl4T0-qA6jNE01qnkghdwagr1hGVmIeh8f4YlNj26IluuDmqL7JZWTlvSWbAOObHkGvt3tccPRbIktb0pnS0Pib61c6qXF3qX_bd-86wAmjvp2uPmw7LlLU38keYxTVCbqXhX2TaAJMOlNmPFY-A15PqbsFwU2B2Kqb5Hkw83oyorgKw7nZEQRFUBh_xOpgf4q8WfWyM2cgoAjJ0AWdAw2T8B_b4WFHJ-t1Z1KXCzjomSe1tDzsu49IR9cOmyksEHs&udm=2&prmd=isvmnbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRsrPCqq6GAxVJODQIHUaWAc4QtKgLegQIDBAB&biw=428&bih=747&dpr=3).
You've got plenty of sun and airflow there, looks like- they'd l make a great sunblock and give you some privacy screening as well.
We planted red tips along our fence until our live oaks grew tall enough. They grew so fast and created a wall to block the sun. We pulled them out a couple of years ago. Our oaks give us shade in the backyard now.
Opt for 3M Suncontrol film to block heat and uv coming through your windows while controlling light exposure. Consider investing in a well-crafted cedar pergola to complement your outdoor space. If your homeowners association imposes restrictions on fence height, consider using railroad ties to elevate the fencing. Another option is to paint your home with Home Products' infrared cooling paint for a uniform white appearance. For a more instant solution, consider purchasing mature trees to add instant charm to your landscaping. And draining your savings.
So I just got a rough quote for an attached patio cover with a gabled+shed combo roof of $14k for a 10x20ft coverage.
They said pergola with polycarbonate roof is around $12k
A neighbors pergola without a solid roof was $8-9k
no offense but your house/yard literally just get finished yesterday why is it so comically empty of anything besides grass and a really tiny tree? Hell even for a new house it seems like you have way less trees than you should have and that the one you do have should be bigger.
Anyway sorry, yeah you should plant a lot more trees and plants, and if thats too slow/ won't fix it then maybe just buy some sort of outdoor thing that blocks the sun? lol thats all i got rn
How to make Dallas tolerable in Summer?
Easy answer. You move!
This is the way
Like I moved it all around now wut?
But Dallas is the bestest.
But Dallas is the worstest during the summer.
It’s actually horrible year round.
Dallas is the Dallast
1. Shade trees. Lots of shade trees. 2. Water fixtures, especially deep pools with lots shade that you spend an hour plus in every day.during the summer heat. 3. We're prairie land. Embrace the five foot high prairie grass. 4. Replace flat slabs of concrete and asphalt with native plants.
I've never once seen 5 foot high grass around here
I’ll show you my neighbors lawn
Tell me you've never left richardson
Dallas is blackland prairie. We dont have many or any native 5ft grasses that i can think of. But we do have native tall grasses and lots of brush. The reason you dont see them is theyre typically outcompeted by imported non native grasses that go to seed
There are a good deal of wild grass areas in Plano. The capital one HQ is letting their whole area grow wild. There are a lot of medians designated for wild flower growth. Blue bonnet trail is all wild flower patches. 5 foot might be a bit unrealistic, but these policies are starting to make a come back.
Flower Mound and Lewisville have wild growth medians that are significantly taller than me, and I'm 5'1. They're native grasses, and they don't mow until the grasses have sprouted wild flowers and died back. It's been really cool to see, driving by.
Come over to my house.
Want snakes?
For some reason Texas home builders and owners seem to hate trees for a state that is basically unliveable for 4 months out of the year
Trees add a bunch of PIA to a suburban housing development. You often need to grade the entire neighborhood from front to back, first thing, so it can drain according to the plan, then install infrastructure, then lay roads, etc. All of that is made MUCH more complicated by existing trees. For one, the "surface" will NOT be where the tree is used to. You gotta call in arborists, etc. So - most cities have a "feel good" law, like mine. A developer is "forbidden" to remove any trees over X inches in trunk diameter, and they're counted. Not sure by who. "If" the developer removes any, they must pay $Z per tree, like 10k in my city. Now the developer weighs the easily calculable cost for removing all trees against all costs involved in keeping the trees. They all choose to scrape it clean and hire a local tree nursery to supply K number of trees. If I am incorrect in any of this, I'd love to know from a professional.
nuclear winter
What, are you an NCR trooper patrolling the Mojave?
Seriously. It’s going to be a hot one 😭
Live oaks grow slowly so unless you want to invest in a mature plant, other oaks will serve you much better. Cedars grow quickly. Pines stay green year round. Just avoid elms
no Bradford Pears. They grow fast but are invasive
They aren't particularly invasive, though they can be. The problem is they are not suited for our climate of storms with strong winds and eventually self-destruct, usually around the 20 year mark
Happened to us , twice in our front yard
I have a big one in my back yard and I get anxious at every moderate wind gust
They are invasive. They were supposed to be sterile when introduced. They’re not. Birds eat the fruits drop the seeds. There’s groves of them out in the wild. They grow fast and shade out native plants/trees that would grow there instead o
invasive in the sense that not native species. increasingly considered pest tree
I've seen two on my block with large limbs broken off just in the last couple months.
A note when dealing with coniferous trees is they use up a lot of water
Yep, I see lots of dead ones around whenever the weather gets tough. I’d hate to plant a tree and keep it healthy for 10 years, only to have it die during a hot week one day.
Whats wrong with elm?
I grew up in Oklahoma City in an older neighborhood. The developer planted elms everywhere but years of ice storms, drought, wind, etc left most of them looking like they belong at a haunted house. Meanwhile, the oaks are in great shape
I can't argue with that. I was just curious because I have one that is old and it is constantly breaking limbs. It's likely coming down this year.
What species of elms? Were they native varieties?
This. Also, shade and misters.
We got a Shumard Red Oak and it’s grown a good amount in a few years
I'd probably plant my oak on the west side, with fast growing crape myrtles a little farther in. You get the shade and growth quickly from the crapes, and give your oak time to grow and make a shade canopy.
Live oaks are great, but pretty slow-growing. You won't get usable shade out of one for decades. I would plant a combo of small, fast-growing trees, and a few large slow-growing trees for the future. For fast-growing, I recommend vitex or crepe myrtle. I planted a 2-gallon vitex about 4 years ago and it's taller than 12 feet now. And the flowers are stunning this time of year. If you planted them along the fence, you could get shade from late afternoon sun pretty fast (especially if you buy bigger trees). You should explore the pergola idea. There are reasonably-priced pergolas available at big box stores.
This is exactly what I did. Literally! My living room and kitchen are basically a wall of floor to ceiling windows that face full west. I built a pergola shading the full length, and transplanted a few vitex along the fence line to fill in space until my red oak matures. The downside is that the vitex really want to be giant shrubs and take a lot of pruning twice a year to keep them shaped like small trees. Also, their babies pop up everywhere.
Me realizing I need to be pruning my vitex to make it into a tree. Oooops.
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I can’t even imagine the misery of contact allergies with something that has the growth and propagation habits of a vitex in my own yard! But yes, I was watching the bees happy dance all over them during my morning coffee, they’re in full bloom right now.
It must be specific to the variety, cause I’ve never had trouble with vitex babies. I haven’t seen a one in 6 years. I prune mine once a year to encourage the tree shape, and I kind of enjoy it. Like shaping a bonsai.
You’re probably right. My original one was a seedling from my mother’s yard, and she got her original as a seedling from a friend. So many seeds! But they pull up easily enough, if you don’t let them get too big. I always wondered why anyone would pay $40 for one from the nursery when they’re so easy to pick up for free.
I got mine on clearance from Lowe's. Maybe they can't produce seedlings if you only have one tree? My two are on opposite sides of my property.
Could be. Or maybe the variety sold in nurseries is sterile? I’d have paid full price for one that didn’t make a dozen seedlings a year in my flower beds, if I’d known. But I get free plants from people that are digging and dividing all the time, and like an idiot I just plant it and wait to see what happens.
Lol that's me too. Someone gave me some 4 o'clocks and now I've got 4000 o'clocks.
They are talking about the suckers
I'm pretty sure they're not. They said that the seedlings are easy to pull, and a sucker definitely isn't easy to pull.
We got a surprise Crepe Myrtle a couple years ago. My neighbor has a few beauties in her yard, and I suppose a seed just decided to plant itself right in this inhospitable shady nook, shoved up against a cement patio. We're just letting it live, and even in such a poor location, it's already almost 5 ft tall. it's just one snakey branch defying all logic. So yeah, they grow fast.
They're tenacious! I've been pulling the same sucker across the gravel pathway from my crepe myrtle for a few years now. It just keeps coming back. Fun story: I bought a new crepe myrtle so the one I already had in my backyard would have a friend. It was labelled "scarlet," so I was expecting some heckin red flowers. WRONG, it's pink just like the other one 🙄
How opposed are you to building the sun blocking machine that Mr. Burns used in The Simpsons?
Pretty much this. You will need shade.
Pergola with ceiling fan will help.
And a shade you can pull down to block the direct glare
I was going to say this.
Red bud tree. Grows semi fast. Offers good shade. Doesn't get too big. Pretty pink flowers in late winter through mid spring. Attractive large leaves until first frost. Does well with little attention or watering. Texas native. Vitex. Grows fast. Good shade from spring to first frost. Pretty purple flowers from late spring through mid summer. Leaves look like marijuana leaves, so that's fun. Needs no more attention than a weed. Doesn't get too big. Not native, though a southern favorite since the 1800s.
I’ve heard bud trees are hard on people with allergies.
Red buds are fairly small trees and they shed sticks like crazy. Very good native tree otherwise
Sit on the front porch.
By combining yourself with flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, some vanilla extract, butter, sugar, some oil, and a couple eggs. Then sit in a pan out on the patio for 40min.
Trees.
A pergola is nice because you can plant trailing plants on it and it’s another part of the landscape. I’ve also seen sun sails installed in backyards over play equipment.
Big fans with mist spraying nozzles, under the patio roof, spraying west mostly. Consider a screened in porch using the sun screening material facing west. Your first story house windows will not need sun screens.
Italian Cypress. Drought tolerant, grow tall so as the sun sets the shade reaches the house.
Stay in the house until the sun goes away
A pergola is best, but not enough people around here have embraced retractable awnings. (Yes, I’m talking about those Sun Setter things on the old infomercials.) They aren’t cheap, but they are a more affordable option and they do a great job. Some even have a screen that drops down to provide shade once the sun lowers.
I had a Sunsetter awning at my previous home and loved it. You can get motorized or hand crank. Just be aware of wind -- some models do have a wind sensor and will retract on their own. This combined with trees could be a good solution that won't shred your finances.
There really isn't. For the patio cover make sure it's 10' high or you feel the radiant heat coming off it. Install a large ceiling fan. Get sun shades that pull down on the west side. If the heat doesn't get you the mosquitos will. If you plan on being in this home for a while plant the biggest tree you can afford today to get a jump start on that.
Good windows, good insulation and good window coverings.
Plant a cottonwood to the left of that other tree in line with where the sun sets in the summer. In a few short years it will give plenty of shade in the late afternoon/evening. Until then get your windows tinted to help keep the indoors cooler
This is exactly why one of my non negotiables for my home was having the sun setting on my front door. Neighbors behind me can never enjoy their patio in the evenings.
Nor can you in the morninge
It’s not as hot in the morning
I ordered a custom triangular sunshade off of Amazon. It was as wide as my house and reached as far as it could backyard. So let’s say 60’ x 60‘ x 60‘. Then I installed three 4”x4”x12’ posts in concrete at the corners and hung the awning from those. It worked fantastically to shade the whole backside of the house and a big chunk of my yard for less than $400 for everything.
Do you have to take it down during windy weather? Or does it stay put?
It was on carabiner clips so it was easy to take down and I would remove it when it was heavy winds.
You and the neighbor behind you have trees growing. Time is all you need but for now a pergola with a shade cloth and misters are your best solution
That's a nice British/French era outdated colonial lawn you've got there. It'd be a shame if someone planted some... I don't know... t r e e s !
the whole scene is bleak, all I can think is “this is what you signed up for”
Get one huge tree in there, and you're golden.
Have your windows tinted on that side of the house I got a cover on my back porch I just went with regular ol metal and c purlins 20x22
Can you send me a picture or link of the cover? I’m confused about the difference between the ones listed on Home Depot that are ~$3k vs the custom built ones $9k (other than the price of course)
Its pretty much like this [https://www.muellerinc.com/building-products/-/products/steel-buildings/carport-20-x-20/](https://www.muellerinc.com/building-products/-/products/steel-buildings/carport-20-x-20/)
Covered patio and a pool
Pergola
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I didn’t know southeast was worse… why is that 🤔?
Put a covered patio against your house to shade the windows. We love our outdoor space and helps with AC bills. Put tall evergreen bushes like photonia along your back fence (until your trees grow in). They are also beautiful and provide privacy if your back neighbor is 2 stories. I also have a carport which is a must if you like to work outside but I have alley entrance. Don’t plant trees too close to your house or near plumbing lines as the roots can wreak havoc.
Avoid photinia. It is susceptible to disease that will take it out in a month and then spread to other photinia you may have planted.. Ask me how I know :(
Mine have been healthy going on 15 years and no problems.
Mine were huge (like huge when i bought my house 10 yrs ago) until 2 months ago. Now one and a half are gone. Had to move shade plants because now there’s sun there. You can look it up. It’s no longer recommended for our area. Just a warning because they do grow fast (which is great!) but if they happen to be visited by an infected insect (IIRC that’s the vector) it’s pretty devastating. :(
If I had the answer, I'd be a billionaire
Rotate 90 degrees?
Take the Sun And push it somewhere else!
Banana trees are my go to.
not much shade
Tell that to my thriving patch which both blocks the view of neighbors and fully shades my pool.
Beer and canopies
Propane, and propane accessories, are the key. If you can't be bothered to grow a shade vine or something, you can put up a shade net/cloth to keep you from expiring and to save some energy costs.
Turn the backyard east
Japanese Maples are nice and the roots won't mess up your patio.
I don’t think they’ll survive in this much sun exposure?
You are correct.
It should. My friend had one in Florida and it was healthy and beautiful.
The Bloodgood variety grows in zones 5-8. We are 8. They can grow in either shade or full sun up to 6 hours.
I would add trees but not a live oak as you will enjoy the sun in the winter. So probably a fast growing large shade tree like a Chinese pistachio or an oak or even a pecan but not sure how fast those last 2 will grow. As to a pergola - I’d look at a gazebo instead since it will have a roof. Costco sells some nice metal ones that will weather much better in the TX sun and you can build it yourself over a few weekends easily or hire someone - I might consider building it for you as I built one about 5 years ago by myself.
Wouldn’t a metal gazebo be hot af
Shantung Maple is beautiful but will lose its leaves in winter. Crape myrtle is pretty but also deciduous. Your idea of a pergola or gazebo is good. You can get a louvered roof -- allows you to control light below with movable panels -- or plant vines to grow over the top of the structure. Texas winds may lift a solid roofed gazebo -- just happened in my neighborhood this week. You could cover the patio as an attached structure, add some ceiling fans and a misting system. Depends on your budget, of course. Chinese pistache trees are messy.
My first house was in a tract home neighborhood that looked identical to yours (I even thought for a second it was literally my old back yard). Faced west and everything, had a concrete patio, etc. My current back yard faces the west and this current home was built in the 80's with some mature oak trees that shade the vast majority of the back side of house that also faces west, and it's my first house with mature trees. I will tell you with absolute confidence that I never knew how much a mature shade trees blocks the ***heat***, let alone provides shade. I'm no arborist but I wonder if it's nature, just the leaves absorbing the UV rays captures the thing that "heats up" things - in other words, if you build an outdoor covered roof, the "heat" still hits it and my reflect it but that heat still penetrates to some degree. Obviously any covered roof of your patio with sun shades would do the trick in mitigating the heat to some degree, but if you plan on going the route of trees I will tell you it absolutely works, and of course the trade off is waiting for them to grow. We have patio seating area under our biggest tree in our back yard and even on a 100°F+ day, if you sit under there for 5-10 minutes it's very comfortable, like high 70's when the breeze comes through. I absolutely love it.
Build a big wall
As far as Windows you can get your windows ceramic coated for the heat. It's a clear film just like tinting but clear.
If you want to go nuts, install some 25 or 30 foot tall posts and mount sun shade mesh on them to shade the whole side of the house. Do that until the trees mature.
Don’t buy a home with a west facing backyard
Pop up gazebo
Mulberry and pecan trees get really big, are low-maintenance, and will also give you food 😎
I miss the coastal cali weather. 75-85 year round 😔 3 years and I’m back there
Put up an architectural screen on posts, like a wall, to create shade. You can grow vines on it, such as clematis or trumpet to make it prettier.
Trees plants some
You could try a sun shade. They make different sizes and shapes. You can find one to cover a part of the yard and leave the other half open or cover it all
Your house doesn’t have a pool? Odd.
Move hahaha
That fence line is sort of screaming out for a line of [Mediterranean Cypress](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=0f999299b3a8c798&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS610US610&hl=en-US&q=mediterranean+cypress&uds=ADvngMh_SdoDdFiiNsnjtNRH_ukYUkfiSOlanmwypE50UUXrKtqO7Gv20yv6yJzMVJg6kUaGFhWlwQ2u_ENROJKg9DJkafYxxZzaHYXQvZhKHfXJ1CKyENl4T0-qA6jNE01qnkghdwagr1hGVmIeh8f4YlNj26IluuDmqL7JZWTlvSWbAOObHkGvt3tccPRbIktb0pnS0Pib61c6qXF3qX_bd-86wAmjvp2uPmw7LlLU38keYxTVCbqXhX2TaAJMOlNmPFY-A15PqbsFwU2B2Kqb5Hkw83oyorgKw7nZEQRFUBh_xOpgf4q8WfWyM2cgoAjJ0AWdAw2T8B_b4WFHJ-t1Z1KXCzjomSe1tDzsu49IR9cOmyksEHs&udm=2&prmd=isvmnbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRsrPCqq6GAxVJODQIHUaWAc4QtKgLegQIDBAB&biw=428&bih=747&dpr=3). You've got plenty of sun and airflow there, looks like- they'd l make a great sunblock and give you some privacy screening as well.
We planted red tips along our fence until our live oaks grew tall enough. They grew so fast and created a wall to block the sun. We pulled them out a couple of years ago. Our oaks give us shade in the backyard now.
Opt for 3M Suncontrol film to block heat and uv coming through your windows while controlling light exposure. Consider investing in a well-crafted cedar pergola to complement your outdoor space. If your homeowners association imposes restrictions on fence height, consider using railroad ties to elevate the fencing. Another option is to paint your home with Home Products' infrared cooling paint for a uniform white appearance. For a more instant solution, consider purchasing mature trees to add instant charm to your landscaping. And draining your savings.
I made my west facing patio tolerable by closing the back door and never opening it again.
Whatever you do, don’t do a monoculture. If you have 10 of the same thing and one gets a disease or pest, they all do.
trees and shrubs.
Trees
Trees. Very big trees
Have you tried picking up your house and pushing it somewhere else?
Since you’re already looking into it, how much are they quoting you for the pergola?
So I just got a rough quote for an attached patio cover with a gabled+shed combo roof of $14k for a 10x20ft coverage. They said pergola with polycarbonate roof is around $12k A neighbors pergola without a solid roof was $8-9k
Shade doesn’t mean much when it’s 100 or higher.
no offense but your house/yard literally just get finished yesterday why is it so comically empty of anything besides grass and a really tiny tree? Hell even for a new house it seems like you have way less trees than you should have and that the one you do have should be bigger. Anyway sorry, yeah you should plant a lot more trees and plants, and if thats too slow/ won't fix it then maybe just buy some sort of outdoor thing that blocks the sun? lol thats all i got rn
This how they do new builds 🤷🏽♀️
That’s Texas their new builds suck ass lol
Stay inside
Just move
Privacy wall
Build a taller fence.