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In winter, the sun's rays are not perpendicular and come in through windows, offsetting the cold. The winter sun does not burn. The summer sun can be fought with pergolas or trees.
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Pergolas
Pergolas, or arbors, are excellent supports for deciduous climbing plants, making for cool shade in summer tha allows air to circulate, and sunny exposure in the colder months. The plants can be placed in large pots or window boxes, allowing them enough space for the roots to develop and quickly cover the pergola. The ones most commonly used for this purpose are climbing roses, wisteria and clematis because when their foliage falls off an annual cleaning takes place and the hottest sun of the summer is blocked out.
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Lattices
Lattices can also hold climbing plants that ease the effects of the sun. Set up facing west or south, they filter the afternoon sun, which hurts shade-loving plants, and lower the evening temperatures. To make for an intimate atmosphere the plant species should be perennials such as jasmin, trachelospermum or solanum. To cover a wall with shade the most appropriate plants are ampelopsis or climbing hydrangea. They develop their own system for sticking to vertical surfaces, and don't need a lattice or mesh to climb.

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Bushes, trees and evergreens
To complete the shady terrace all you need are trees, bushes and perennials. The trees need pots large enough not only for their roots to develop but to prevent the wind from knocking them over. They should be of moderate growth, such as some fruit trees, hawthorns, Jupiter or Japanese maple.
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Whatever bushes you choose must be shade-loving. You can play with evergreens, which form the structure of the terrace, and decidous species which display vividly the changing seasons of the year. Good evergreens for this are laurel, camellia, laurustinus, box, California lilac or pieris. Deciduous bushes can be kerria, symphoricarpos and hydrangea.
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The pots for the large bushs can be completed with perennials that fill up spots at the base of the container: vinca, lamium or violets do this nicely.
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Two key factors for the healthy development of plants are the substrate and a programmed watering system. The cost up front is high, but this will avoid further expense in treating or moving the plants around.