If this summer has taught me anything, it’s to never take shade for granted. And with hotter summers expected to become the new normal, it’s a good idea to create areas of shade in your outdoor space to help it stay cooler. So I spoke with garden experts who revealed three fast-growing trees and shrubs that are great for providing shade in a garden.
Where before, gardeners coveted a ‘sun trap’ garden, 2026 has proved there is such a thing as too much sun, with garden shade ideas becoming more popular. One of the best ways to shade a garden is with clever planting.
If you want to heatproof your garden and keep it cool for heatwaves to come, here are some fast-growing trees and shrubs that are great for providing shade.
1. Viburnum tinus
Not only is Viburnum tinus great for providing shade, but it’s also one of the best low-maintenance privacy shrubs. It’s evergreen, providing colour to your garden in the depths of winter, too.
‘A popular, hardy evergreen shrub, Viburnum tinus is low maintenance as well as fast growing, adding approx. 50cm each year to its height until it reaches maturity at between 2.5 and 4 metres in height,’ says Lucie Bradley, gardens and greenhouse expert at Easy Garden Irrigation.
‘In the summer, its solid foliage creates effective shade, blocking the strong rays of the sun and providing great privacy. With pruning, you can shape this shrub into an informal hedge, standard tree, or simply leave it untrimmed to form a free-standing, multi-stemmed shrub.’
Where to buy Viburnum tinus:
2. Silver birch
Silver birch is one of the most recognisable trees in the UK, famed for its gorgeous silvery bark. Silver birch trees grow relatively fast and establish quickly, too. Plus, its spring catkins make the perfect treat for wildlife.
‘Silver birch trees are another great option for sunny gardens. Their light canopy helps cool the area beneath while still allowing airflow through the garden. They thrive in full sun and prefer consistently moist soil,’ says Darren Beard, Senior Gardening Buyer at Cherry Lane Garden Centres
Where to buy silver birch:
3. Photinia ‘Red Robin’
Another great shrub for privacy, Photinia ‘Red Robin’ is known for its fast-growing nature and stunning, glossy red leaves.
‘I not only love the look of vibrant, fiery-red new foliage which Photinia ‘Red Robin’ produces in the spring, I also adore the fact that it’s year round, glossy, oval leaves create a dense cover to this fast-growing shrub, providing me with both privacy and shade during the summer months when I’m sat out in my garden,’ says Lucie.
‘Thriving in plenty of natural light, ‘Red Robin’ can produce 50 to 100cm of new growth in a year when in good, well-drained soil and with plenty of full sun. Once mature, your shrub should reach between 2.5 and 4 metres in height and spread, easy to manage by trimming twice a year, once in spring and again in late summer, so you can manage the shape and size of this shrub as well as encourage its foliage to remain full.’
Where to buy Photinia ‘Red Robin’:
On a hot day, you can’t beat a shady spot to cool down. Which tree is your favourite?
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