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Homes & Gardens
Homes & Gardens
Sarah Wilson

How to Design a Garden for Extreme Heat – 5 Thermal Garden Design Ideas That Will Keep You Cool

Garden design with pale hardscaping and natural planting, with garden chairs and table, and trees.

Thermal garden design is the big new trend for 2026 that aims to offer a solution to extreme heat. An aesthetic response to hotter summers and climate change, designers are using a combination of restrained greens, soft neutrals, and natural materials to make gardens feel visually and physically cooler.

Many award-winning gardens are starting to play with thermal garden design ideas according to the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers (SGLD). These include temperature perception, using cool stone hardscaping, water features and calming green, gray and silver planting combinations to create spaces that feel both refreshing and calm.

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