5 Easy Additions That Will Make Your Garden Feel Cooler During Hot Weather

A spacious outdoor garden with trees, bushes, and white furniture.

This summer has truly put my love for lounging outdoors to the test. While I do look forward to the sometimes-fleeting London summer, I will admit that the intense heat has made me retreat indoors for most of it so far. But after some consideration, I've realized it's not a location change I need, but rather a few subtle adjustments to make the temperature outside more livable.

Simple additions like shade sails, portable fans, water features, light-colored furniture, and lush, transpiring plants are key to making urban gardens feel cooler. Not to mention, most of these things add personality to your outdoor spaces, too.

So, if you've found it tough to enjoy your garden of late, here's what to consider adding.

1. Shade Sails

These charming shade sails will make your garden feel so much more like a beach resort. (Image credit: Boutique Boheme)

While I do like the tropicality of a parasol, I find sail shades to be a slightly chicer garden addition. Especially if your home features a small garden that needs all the free floor space it can get.

Retractable sun shades elevate the ambiance of an outdoor living room while introducing a cool patch of shade to unwind in. This Pale Yellow Waterproof UV Garden Shade Sail from Amazon is lovely if you're still feeling butter yellow.

This sun shade sail from Boutique Boheme offers shade from the sun while filtering in the breeze.

2. Portable Fan

An outdoor fan might have been an option in summers past, but I now deem it a garden essential. (Image credit: DUUX )

One of the best hacks for entertaining outdoors in hot weather is a simple one: using an outdoor fan. And if you can get your hands on one that includes a misting feature, all the better. For instance, the FlexBreeze Pro Mist Fan from Shark is a best seller.

However, a hardworking outdoor fan can be just as valuable in the middle of a heatwave. This DUOCOOL Smart WiFi Cordless 2-in-1 Fan Gray from Fenwick is another sleek option.

This Duux Mist Air Cooler is easy to roll in and out. And bonus points for the minimalist beige color.

3. Water Features

The soft trickle of water calms the senses and cools a garden in such a beautiful way. (Image credit: Cox & Cox)

If you've ever wondered to yourself, 'Does a water feature cool a garden?', as someone who spent most of my childhood in a home with a lily pond, I can confirm with conviction. And it proved that it doesn't have to be a sprawling water garden to achieve the same effect. Think a solar-panel water fountain or even a pretty bird bath.

"I have a minimalist black bird bath that also functions as a water feature in my garden, and there's something about the glistening water in the sun that makes the space feel psychologically cooler," says Livingetc's deputy editor Debbie Black.

"There is also actual science behind its 'evaporative cooling' properties, too," she adds. "Heat is absorbed from its surroundings as water evaporates. It's a garden addition with many benefits, in my opinion. And I'm keen to soon upgrade to a cascading water feature to amp up the relaxation (and evaporation) factor, too!"

If, like Debbie, you're on the hunt for a gorgeous water feature to soothe the space, this feature from Cox & Cox is so stylish.

4. Nature-Drenching

Layering in cooling plants around your garden is the most natural way to regulate the temperature in this zone. (Image credit: Timothy Kaye. Design: Di Bartolo Architects)

If your garden consists of a more pared-back landscape, this is your sign to kick things up a notch through nature-drenching. It'll save you from having to visit your local park (however beautiful) whenever you need some cool fresh air in the summer.

Multi-level planting is the best way to introduce layers of lush foliage. Consider low-maintenance ground cover for shade. It'll wind around your pathways and cool from below.

Then group in some potted cultivars that feel like something out of a tropical garden. And if space permits, include some privacy trees for shade, too. It'll make stepping outdoors feel like escaping to a nature-rich oasis.

Boston ferns are beloved for their cooling abilities. And this potted version from Flowers & Plants Co makes it so easy to usher into your space.

5. Light-Colored Furniture

These Pacha Swivel Garden Lounge Chairs from GUBI show you just how much of a difference light color palettes can make. (Image credit: GUBI)

The garden color furniture trends that lean into cooling a space typically involve a palette of lighter colors. Since darker shades are known to catch heat and trap it, switching to lighter tints is the shortcut to a pleasant ambiance.

This Avina Lounger from SO'HOME, this Small Outdoor Pouf from BADESOFA, and this Korfu Deck Chair from Anthropologie are some of my al fresco minimalist favorites.

You don't have to zap your space of color either. Take this Ivy Stripe Rattan Accent Chair from Habitat, for example.

And if you're looking for a function to tie your outdoor garden together, aperitivo corners are the fun way to transform the space for summer hosting. For more design advice, be sure to subscribe to the Livingetc newsletter.

Boutique Boheme France Coconut Fiber Shade Sail Duux Mist Air Cooler Cox & Cox Sage Ombre Water Feature Flowers & Plants Co Boston Fern in Concrete Pot Habitat Ivy Stripe Rattan Accent Chair