Create a living pergola canopy

Pergolas don’t usually come with a pergola canopy or pergola cover or pergola awning.

A pergola itself gives dappled shade from the stringers. In many cases, that is perfect.
Maybe you get afternoon shade already or have a shade tree that covers the pergola area.

If you are like us and have trees not yet tall enough to throw much shade and a west facing backyard, a sunny summer afternoon can be brutal.
I love my pergola for the “room” it creates but some days I would like a little more shade.

There are fabric pergola awnings on the market. These are usually mounted on a track (often motorized) so that they can be retracted when not in use or for bad weather.
They can come in a variety of colors and give quite a bit of shade. They have a big price tag though, and are unaffordable for many of us.

I have also seen a product advertised that looks like a roof but has louvers that can be opened or closed or just tilted to follow the sun. I have never seen these other than an advertisement though, so I can’t speak much about them.

Don’t lose hope. If you need shade for your pergola there are much less expensive alternatives.

I have a neighbor who covered his pergola in lattice board

For me, our pergola not only creates a great space to relax under, it serves as the perfect anchor for my living pergola canopy.

Our pergola extends over our patio. On the south and west sides of the pergola, we build up a 2 foot high berm that comes up against a paver block retaining wall. The retaining wall serves as extra seating and the berm “raises up the ground” if you will, to make any grasses or perennials I plant there 2 feet higher than they would otherwise. This gives me a great garden bed, and the extra height added to the plants and flowers gives us more privacy too.

To add to the privacy and to give us shade I have a wood trellis attached to the posts on the south berm.
On this trellis, I grow 2 varieties of clematis and to fill in the spaces, each year I plant morning glories, which in our zone 5, are annuals. The clematis is ¾ of the way up the 10 foot trellis by the time the morning glories are just starting to grab hold. Once those morning glories are big enough that the rabbits no longer eat them, they grow pretty rapidly, as most vines will. By the beginning of July, I have some nice shade in the midafternoon. By early August, the morning glories have completely covered the spaces left by the clematis and are growing over the top of the pergola.

Gurney's is a mail order nursery that I have bought from and I give high recommendations to. They always have a great deal like this one. Gurney's Ground Covers & Vines - $20 Off $40

This is a great(and quite beautiful) pergola canopy and even attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

This year we will be building a trellis for the west berm and I will cover that too with clematis and morning glories.

Beautiful and fragrant flowers just add to the enjoyment of the pergola.

There are many other vines you can use for a living pergola canopy besides the two I mentioned.

Classy Groundcovers has a sells many varieties of vines and has an excellent reputation for customer service.

Here are a some great choices for a vine.

	Boston Ivy	This grows in zones 4-8. Needs to be kept in check so it doesn’t grow out of control.Poisonous plant, take care when you have young children. Birds love the berries and has a gorgeous red/purple fall color.
	Honeysuckle	There are many varieties, most can be invasive so be vigilant in your pruning. Many are fragrant and will attract hummingbirds. Check your garden center for the best variety in your area.
	Sweet Autumn Clematis	This grows in zones 4-9. Poisonous plant, take care when you have young children. Very fragrant when blooming, which is late summer and fall. Like many vines, it must be kept in check. This one tends to be “leggy” and offer more coverage near the top.
	Wisteria	For zones 5-10. Be prepared to prune and train this aggressively. Beautiful blooms in the spring but it can choke out trees if unchecked and planted too closely. This needs a sturdy structure to climb as it gets very heavy. Make sure you buy a grafted plant or you may not get blooms for up to 10 years.