When the sun is beating down, patios can quickly become uncomfortably hot. And while parasols and pergolas can provide some welcome shade, Alan Titchmarsh’s clever planting trick can also make spending time on your patio far more comfortable this summer.
In a recent Instagram reel, the gardening expert showed how he uses large, castor-wheeled planters, allowing him to move them around the garden with ease, refresh the layout, place plants in the best growing conditions, and change their position wherever they’ll have the biggest impact.
And while it’s a handy way to refresh the look of your outdoor space, it’s also a clever solution to keep your patio cool in a heatwave. By moving tall, leafy plants beside your outdoor seating area, you can create more shade exactly where you need it, while taking advantage of the natural cooling effect plants have on the air around them. It’s also one of the smartest small patio ideas if you’re short on space and a flexible alternative to a fixed garden shade idea.
I asked experts why it’s a trick well worth copying during hot weather.
How Alan Titchmarsh’s moveable planters can cool a patio
Plants are a natural way to cool an outdoor space. Rather than absorbing and reflecting heat like paving and walls, they provide shade and release moisture into the air through a process called transpiration.
Richard Barker, a horticultural expert at LBS Horticulture, explains that the right plants can cool a patio by reducing the amount of heat reflected from surrounding surfaces and lowering the temperature around them.
‘Plants with large leaves or dense foliage can stop sunlight from heating the patio’s paving stones,’ he explains. ‘Their leaves also cover nearby masonry, helping to keep surfaces cooler and preventing heat from radiating back towards you. As plants release water vapour through transpiration, they absorb heat from the surrounding environment, helping lower the temperature.’
Garden expert Lucie Bradley, from Easy Garden Irrigation, says this makes a moveable planter an especially clever choice.
‘Plants are a lovely, natural way to help cool down a patio area by providing shade, blocking intense sunlight and releasing water vapour into the air, which helps lower the temperature,’ she says.
Because the planters are on castors, you can move them to wherever they’re needed most throughout the day, whether it’s beside your seating area, around a dining table, or to shield a particularly hot corner of your patio.
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Forest Garden Linear Planter – Tall With Wheels
Lucie says that unlike heavy pots that stay in one place, wheeled planters offer flexibility. If one part of your patio becomes a sun trap in the afternoon, you can roll a lush planter into position to provide cooling shade, then move it again later.
They’re also ideal for smaller, compact gardens where every inch counts. Rather than filling valuable space with permanent raised beds, moveable planters can be rearranged depending on how you use your patio. They can even be wheeled into a more sheltered position during extreme weather or colder months, making them useful year-round too.
Which plants will help keep a patio cool?
To get the biggest cooling effect, choose plants with dense foliage, broad leaves or an airy canopy that creates some dappled shade, says Lucie.
Richard recommends bay trees (pick up a 9cm pot from £9.99 at Thompson & Morgan) as one of the best options for containers. Their evergreen foliage creates natural shade throughout the year. Hostas (this hosta collection, £19.95 from Crocus, has a good selection) and ferns are equally effective, thanks to their large, leafy growth (I like this ‘ostrich fern’ variety for height, available at Crocus from £ 5.99). Ornamental grasses, like Pennisetum Alopecuroides ‘hameln’, £14.99 from Thompson & Morgan, are another great addition, reflecting more sunlight than dark paving, while their soft foliage sways in the breeze, helping air circulate around your seating area.
Lucie also recommends crepe myrtles (Rhapsody in pink, £89.99 from Thompson & Morgan is a beauty), whose airy canopy provides pockets of shade. Canna lilies, like this pretty peach variety, Canna x gereralis ‘Cannova Bronze Peach’. £9.99 at Thompson & Morgan, are another standout choice, with their dramatic tropical foliage creating lots of shade. However, they do need plenty of watering during prolonged hot weather, especially when grown in containers.
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Lagerstroemia Indica ‘rhapsody in Pink’
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Pennisetum Alopecuroides ‘hameln’
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Matteuccia Struthiopteris
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Canna X Generalis ‘cannova Bronze Peach’
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Laurus Nobilis
So there you have it! With temperatures climbing, creating a cooler outdoor space doesn’t always require large or expensive shade structures.
Alan Titchmarsh’s moveable planter trick is a flexible, space-saving way to bring lush planting exactly where you need it most, helping to make your patio look more expensive on a budget, as well as making it feel cooler and a much more comfortable place to spend time in during even the hottest days of the summer.
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