How Landscapers Near Me Protect Patios From Wind in Mechanicsburg and Harrisburg PA Areas
Windy patios get used less than sheltered patios. If you’re wondering how to achieve a cozy outdoor setting if your home is situated in a windy spot, here’s how landscapers near me protect patios from wind in Mechanicsburg and Harrisburg, PA, areas.
Physical Wind Barriers
A straightforward method of minimizing annoying wind is to construct physical barriers such as living walls of cedars, spruces, or other dense evergreen trees (evergreens work well because of their density branches that reach the ground); wood privacy walls; raised planters filled with evergreen shrubs; or trellises covered in climbing vines, and installed on the windward side of the patio.
This can be enough for smaller patios but if your patio space is large, you may need a few additional methods.
The challenge with this approach is that if the windward side happens to have a gorgeous view, you would lose the view. A tempered glass or Plexiglas screen could provide a solution, but it may not go with your design aesthetic. Glass is commonly used as fencing in modern settings. It is less suitable for rustic or casual suburban use.
Plastic wind screens are also available for use on pergolas and pavilions. While these are not the most attractive solution, they do the job well for a season or two before needing to be replaced.
On an outdoor kitchen, backing the windy side with a trellis would create a sheltered space without making the kitchen feel closed in.
Design Strategies to Prevent Wind Tunnels
Cities are often exceptionally windy, especially on streets where wind is funneled down straight avenues with tall buildings on either side. It’s very much like a wind tunnel; and like water, wind picks up speed and power when it is channeled and it has no obstructions blocking the way.
Avoid the “city wind tunnel” effect at home with landscapes designed to deflect the wind or at least interrupt its flow. A curved walkway framed in evergreen trees and shrubs, a pergola with a trellis on the windward side, and even low walls will serve to slow and disperse wind. Give the wind obstacles to go around to take away some of its power. A tall outdoor fireplace can do wonders to block wind, and it will warm up the space at the same time.
A larger obstacle such as an outdoor kitchen can serve as a wind barrier as well, if you orient it so that one of the counters face the wind directly and add a wall. Adding one wall would not make a kitchen feel more enclosed since the other sides are still open. A wall is also an opportunity to store cooking utensils and to add decorative touches.
Location, Location, Location
Wherever possible, position the patio on the leeward side of the home to use the home as a windbreak. When that isn’t possible, consider the above strategies, and add a third: slightly modifying the patio’s location so it’s not as exposed. Even a few feet in either direction could put the patio out of the worst of the wind.
Instead of positioning a patio at the top of a hill, consider moving it downhill by a few feet to get it out of the wind. Decorative boulders or hedge rows (less massive wind breaks) would then easily shelter the patio.
Related: What Layout is Best for Your Outdoor Kitchen in Mechanicsburg PA?