The first light snow fell on the shade cloth covering our garden pergola. The thin fabric sagged beneath the weight of the wet slurry, reminding me of yet another garden task overlooked and uncompleted before winter weather hurried in. But we who procrastinate were granted a reprieve of several days of unseasonably warm and foggy weather, giving me the chance to remove it.

A shade cloth – made with a woven synthetic material – is a sound and practical alternative to shade created by plant material on a trellis or pergola. The fabric on our pergola provides protection from the blistering sun to the light-sensitive plants below during the hottest months of summer. Meanwhile, hops and wisteria creep up the corner posts of the shade structure. In time, they will replace the shade cloth’s role as protector of the plants below.

Giant coltsfoot, ligularia, Canada columbine, chocolate foxglove, lungwort and a host of other shade-loving plants grow quite amicably under the 40 percent shade cloth dressing the top of the structure above their quarters. The fabric has proven to be a low-maintenance, relatively inexpensive alternative to “real” shade generated by living plants. One must simply remember to remove it from storage and strap it in place in late spring before the sun’s intensity increases over the summer months; and it also must be removed before the autumn and winter snows bear down, threatening collapse of the structure beneath.

Shade fabric, like various species of trees, offer different degrees or qualities of protection. For example, our 40 percent cloth is woven in a way in which the holes between the fibers allow 60 percent of the ambient light to penetrate to the ground beneath the cloth. The supplier offers material ranging from 20 percent to 90 percent shade.

Of course, shade cloth doesn’t provide the look or touch many gardeners prefer. The natural beauty of vines, shrubs and trees – although not providing the instant effect of fabric – have many benefits other than beauty over “synthetic” shade. True, a carefully planned combination of woody plants may offer a succession of flowering, a wealth of leafy patterns and a brilliant display of autumn color. In addition to these advantages, an assortment of growth habits of woody plants offers the gardener every form from tall, narrow trees that generate shade for homes to short, wide trees that offer the breadth of shade necessary for a perennial garden.

Physical form is one of many benefits woody plants have over lifeless fabrics. Physiological qualities yield many other practical dividends. Select evergreen trees for areas that require protection from both the sun and the wind. Select deciduous trees such as maple, poplar and apple for areas that require protection from the elements in summer but which welcome maximum sunlight in winter. Select

vines for walls, arbors and unpleasant views; their creeping nature allows the gardener to manipulate their growth.

If you’ve completed all your garden tasks and are looking for a good read about trees and the value of energy-efficient landscaping, consider the following resources: “Landscaping with Native Trees,” by Guy Sternberg and Jim Wilson; and “Energy Efficient and Environmental Landscaping,” by Anne Simon Moffat and Marc Schiler.