Trees and climbers for a pergola that cast shade in the summer heat: over a terrace or a seating area. Check the toxicity on the plant page if children or pets use the garden.
56 plants from our verified database, by name. A plant is only listed when the data this list relies on is not in doubt. How our data is made
Tilia americana 7 m × 4 m after 10 years
A large, fast-growing lime with strikingly big dark green leaves, up to 20 cm long, and fragrant pale yellow flowers in early summer that bees visit…
Taxodium distichum 5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A deciduous conifer: its soft, light green, feathery foliage turns russet or coppery brown in autumn and then falls together with the short side…
Morus nigra 3.5 m × 3 m after 10 years
This is the mulberry with the best fruit: large, juicy, sweet-sharp, almost black berries that ripen in succession for weeks from midsummer, and a…
Wisteria sinensis 10 m × 8 m after 10 years
Its fragrant, hanging flower clusters suit a sturdy pergola or a substantial support beside a sunny wall, while the summer foliage provides shade.…
Akebia quinata 8 m × 3 m after 10 years
Chocolate vine is a fast twining climber with delicate five-fingered leaves that stay on in mild winters and chocolate-purple spring flowers with a…
Alnus glutinosa 8 m × 4 m after 10 years
A fast-growing native tree for wet, boggy places: a stream bank, a pond side or a low-lying, waterlogged corner where other trees fail. Bacteria…
Malus 'Evereste' 5 m × 3 m after 10 years
'Evereste' is a small flowering tree with abundant spring blossom and colourful little apples that often remain on the branches into winter. Give it a…
Metasequoia glyptostroboides 8 m × 3 m after 10 years
Dawn redwood is a deciduous conifer: its soft, ferny, fresh green needles turn copper and orange-brown in autumn and then drop together with the short…
Catalpa bignonioides 'Nana' 3.5 m × 3 m after 10 years
A catalpa grafted on a tall stem, with a dense, flattened ball crown and large, heart-shaped, fresh green leaves that give a garden a lush, southern…
Quercus robur 7 m × 5 m after 10 years
A native tree that lives for centuries and grows huge, with a broad, rounded crown and lobed leaves; it is home to a great many insects and birds.…
Fagus sylvatica 5 m × 3 m after 10 years
A huge woodland tree with smooth grey bark and deep shade that makes a fine specimen in a large garden and, when clipped, a classic hedge: the hedge…
Carpinus betulus 6 m × 4.5 m after 10 years
It makes a dense hedge that responds well to clipping, but grows into a large shade tree if left unpruned. The foliage turns yellow in autumn, and…
Ulmus minor 7 m × 4 m after 10 years
A native, fast growing tree of floodplains and lowlands that reaches 20 to 30 metres and copes well with drought, chalky soil, city air and occasional…
Acer campestre 4.5 m × 3 m after 10 years
A native, undemanding small to medium tree that copes with drought, lime and clay, city air and hard clipping, and turns a good yellow in autumn. Left…
Acer × freemanii 8 m × 5 m after 10 years
A hybrid of red and silver maple: it grows as fast as silver maple but with stronger branching, and it reliably turns orange-red to scarlet in autumn.…
Ginkgo biloba 6 m × 5 m after 10 years
A distinctive, ancient tree with fan-shaped leaves that all turn brilliant golden yellow at once in autumn. It has almost no pests or diseases,…
Robinia pseudoacacia 'Umbraculifera' 4 m × 3 m after 10 years
A locust grafted on a tall stem with a dense, regular ball crown; it does not flower or set seed and its branches are thornless. It copes well with…
Acer platanoides 'Globosum' 4 m × 3 m after 10 years
A Norway maple grafted on a tall stem whose dense, dark green crown stays a regular ball without pruning and widens into a flattened globe with age.…
Platanus × hispanica 'Alphen's Globe' 4 m × 3 m after 10 years
A plane tree grafted on a tall stem that forms a large, regular ball without clipping, so it gives shade even in a small garden or beside a terrace.…
Koelreuteria paniculata 5 m × 4 m after 10 years
A heat and drought tolerant small tree that carries large yellow flower panicles in midsummer, when few other trees bloom, followed by papery…
Actinidia arguta 9 m × 6 m after 10 years
A vigorous twining climber that bears grape-sized, smooth-skinned kiwis you can eat whole in early autumn, while giving dense green shade over a…
Gleditsia triacanthos 7 m × 5 m after 10 years
A large tree with a loose crown and fine, fern-like foliage that casts only dappled shade, so lawn and other plants still grow underneath. It copes…
Aesculus hippocastanum 5 m × 3.5 m after 10 years
A huge park tree with deep shade and upright white flower candles in May that bees readily visit. It suits only a really large garden with moist, deep…
Catalpa bignonioides 6 m × 5 m after 10 years
A fast-growing tree with a wide, open crown, huge heart-shaped leaves, fragrant white flowers in upright panicles in early summer and long, cigar-like…
Prunus serrulata 'Kanzan' 5 m × 4 m after 10 years
The best known Japanese flowering cherry: in late April and early May it is covered in fully double, vivid pink blossom, on a crown that is…
Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum' 2.5 m × 1.8 m after 10 years
Its burgundy, palm-shaped leaves and bright red autumn colour make it a useful garden focal point, and it can also grow in a large container. Choose a…
Styphnolobium japonicum 6 m × 4 m after 10 years
A large shade tree with a rounded crown that flowers in the height of summer, when few other trees do, with creamy white, scented panicles that bees…
Wisteria floribunda 8 m × 5 m after 10 years
A long-lived climbing shrub with long, scented, hanging flower clusters in spring, at its best on a pergola or a sturdy arbour. It climbs by twining…
Cercis siliquastrum 6 m × 4 m after 10 years
Pink-purple flowers appear on bare branches and even the trunk in spring, followed by rounded, heart-shaped leaves that provide light summer shade.…
Cercidiphyllum japonicum 5 m × 3 m after 10 years
An elegant, often multi-stemmed ornamental tree with heart-shaped leaves that open purplish, turn blue-green in summer and colour yellow, apricot…
Actinidia deliciosa 6 m × 3 m after 10 years
A vigorous, fast-growing vine with large heart-shaped leaves that bears the fuzzy kiwifruit known from the shops and also shades a pergola. Most…
Tilia platyphyllos 7 m × 4 m after 10 years
Large-leaved lime is a long-lived shade tree that grows very big and opens its strongly scented, bee-magnet flowers in early June, the first of the…
Platanus × acerifolia 8 m × 6 m after 10 years
A huge, long-lived shade tree with patchy peeling bark in cream and olive green that takes heat, city air and hard pruning in its stride. It suits…
Fraxinus ornus 5 m × 3.5 m after 10 years
Manna ash is a medium-sized tree with a rounded crown that covers itself in creamy white, scented flower plumes around May and turns yellow to…
Acer platanoides 8 m × 6 m after 10 years
A large native shade tree with a dense, rounded crown that flowers yellowish green and honey-scented before the leaves open and turns golden yellow in…
Carya illinoinensis 6 m × 4 m after 10 years
A huge, long-lived relative of the walnut that gives fine shade and sweet, buttery nuts, but only for a large garden: in time it becomes a broad…
Parrotia persica 4 m × 3 m after 10 years
A slow-growing, usually multi-stemmed small tree with a wide crown, planted for its foliage: the leaves open flushed with purple, turn glossy green in…
Albizia julibrissin 5 m × 4 m after 10 years
A small tree with a wide, flat, umbrella-like crown, finely divided fern-like foliage and pink, silky pompom flowers in midsummer that bees and…
Quercus palustris 7 m × 4 m after 10 years
A fast-growing oak with a regular conical crown and glossy, deeply cut leaves that turn bright red in autumn. It tolerates wet and occasionally…
Acer rubrum 6 m × 4 m after 10 years
A medium-sized shade tree with a dense crown, grown for its fiery orange-red autumn foliage; in early spring small red flowers cover the bare twigs.…
Quercus rubra 7 m × 4 m after 10 years
A fast-growing oak with a large, spreading crown and big, pointed-lobed leaves that turn orange-red, red or reddish brown in autumn. It is a…
Quercus petraea 5 m × 3 m after 10 years
A native tree and the main oak of hill and mountain forests: slow to get going but living for several hundred years, a giant that reaches 20 to 40 m…
Tilia tomentosa 7 m × 4 m after 10 years
Silver lime is a large shade tree with a regular crown; its leaves are dark green above and felted silvery white beneath, so the canopy shimmers in…
Tilia cordata 8 m × 6 m after 10 years
A long-lived native shade tree with heart-shaped leaves that grows large. Its strongly scented flowers open in late June and early July and are…
Amelanchier lamarckii 6 m × 6 m after 10 years
This airy small tree or multi-stemmed shrub brings white spring blossom, edible summer fruit and bright autumn colour. It suits specimen planting,…
Prunus avium 4.5 m × 3.5 m after 10 years
Sweet cherry is covered in white blossom in spring and gives the first fresh fruit of summer from late May to July. It is sold grafted and the…
Castanea sativa 6 m × 3.5 m after 10 years
A huge, spreading tree that lives for centuries, worth planting for its roasting chestnuts and deep shade, but only where there is real room: in…
Liquidambar styraciflua 6 m × 4 m after 10 years
A regular, narrowly conical tree when young with glossy star-shaped leaves that hold weeks of yellow, orange, purple and deep red colour in autumn.…
Acer pseudoplatanus 8 m × 5 m after 10 years
Sycamore maple is a huge, fast-growing shade tree with a dense crown that is happiest in a cooler, more humid spot with fresh soil, and its spring…
Liriodendron tulipifera 8 m × 6 m after 10 years
A fast-growing, straight-trunked large park tree with distinctive four-lobed leaves that look cut off at the tip and turn golden yellow in autumn. Its…
Quercus cerris 6 m × 3.5 m after 10 years
A large oak with a broad crown, dark green leathery lobed leaves and distinctive acorns in shaggy, mossy cups. It is one of the most heat and…
Corylus colurna 6 m × 3.5 m after 10 years
A straight-trunked tree with a regular, cone-shaped crown and dense shade that takes drought, heat and city air well, which makes it a popular…
Juglans regia 6 m × 5 m after 10 years
Walnut is a huge, long-lived shade tree that gives one of the most valuable crops of the garden in autumn, but plant it only where a crown 15 to 20…
Sorbus aria 5 m × 3 m after 10 years
A native small tree with a dense, rounded crown whose oval leaves are dark green above and white-felted beneath, so the whole crown flashes silver…
Morus alba 6 m × 5 m after 10 years
A fast-growing, tough, wide-crowned tree that copes with heat, drought, chalky soil and city air, and in early summer drops sweet white, pink or…
Salix alba 10 m × 7 m after 10 years
A native, very fast-growing, huge waterside tree whose narrow leaves are silky silver underneath. For gardens it is mostly sold as the golden…
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