Choosing Between Gazebos and Natural Canopies for Your Backyard

Nature lovers can find themselves in a bit of a predicament when it comes to establishing an area of shelter and shade in their backyard. On the one hand, they might want to ensure as much of their yard is as natural as possible. However, on the other hand, they also want to ensure they benefit from as much shade and shelter as possible. That isn’t always achievable with nature alone.

And this is where the hard decision comes in. Should you purchase a gazebo using high-quality materials like premium-grade timber, or should you plant a tree for the specific purpose of enjoying a natural canopy? We hope the following information assists in the decision-making process.

Gazebos Are Ideal for Shelter Year-Round

Perhaps the most standout benefit associated with choosing a gazebo instead of a tree providing a natural canopy is its ability to provide you with year-round shelter. It doesn’t matter whether it’s windy, rainy, cold, or warm, you’ll be able to enjoy protection from the elements within the secure structure of a wooden gazebo.

Natural Canopies Are Aesthetically Pleasing

Undoubtedly, some gazebo manufacturers in Aotearoa New Zealand do a beautiful job crafting a gazebo shelter out of wood to work in harmony with its natural surroundings. However, you can’t beat the authentic beauty of real trees.

Planting a spreading, weeping, or columnar tree to provide a gorgeous canopy over part of your property can transform your yard’s aesthetics and draw the eye for all the right reasons.

Gazebos Are Easy to Look After

While experts are available to assist with your tree trimming requirements, you don’t need to worry about plant health with a gazebo. Any wood present in its final form has already been milled, and there’s no need to stress about it surviving drought conditions or being impacted by tree pests and diseases.

Typically, most wooden gazebos can be brushed to remove spider webs, painted, and water blasted. These tasks are usually the extent of their long-term maintenance requirements.

Trees Provide Many Benefits

You might plant a tree to form a natural canopy in your yard, but that’s not all it’s capable of offering. Trees are ideal for shade, screening, noise reduction, ornamental purposes, oxygen, and much more.

Whether you have nosy neighbours, a noisy road, or an idyllic entertainment area missing a form of shelter and a hint of nature, trees can tick all those boxes.

Gazebos Are Instant

Trees can take several years to mature and produce their desired canopies for your backyard shade and shelter. While you might be a patient person, not everyone wants to wait decades to enjoy something they can get nearly instantly with a gazebo. Once you build or buy a gazebo, you can enjoy the instant shade, shelter, and protection.

Plenty of Tree Varieties to Choose From

Gazebos don’t vary too much from their standard form. Once they change shape or size, they’re typically no longer a gazebo. However, natural canopies from trees are wide-ranging and still called natural canopies.

There is an expansive range of shade-producing trees in NZ that can enhance your backyard, such as flowering cherries, silk trees, fruit trees, pūriri, pōhutukawa, karaka, and titoki. While you’ll need to choose a variety that suits the size and shape of your yard, you’re certainly not limited in your options.

Gazebos Stay the Same

With upkeep, the gazebo you buy today will look and feel the same in the years to come. The same can’t always be said for a natural canopy. Its health, shape, and even its colour can sometimes depend on the environment it’s growing in, the weather it’s exposed to, and various other factors.

You might love everything about your tree canopy one year, only to find it’s changed and no longer suitable just a mere few years after.

Trees Are Affordable

Gazebos can cost several hundred dollars – whether you build them yourself or buy them pre-made. Wood in its milled form can be expensive, and you also typically pay for labour if you’re hiring a company to make it for you.

Trees cost a mere fraction of the costs associated with a gazebo. For example, a Putaputaweta tree can grow up to 10 metres tall, yet you might pay less than $10 per pot-grown tree. There are, of course, ongoing costs, such as water, nutrients, and tree trimming if you hire the experts, but they can be minimal over the tree’s lifetime compared to those upfront associated with a gazebo.

Natural Canopy or Gazebo – You Choose

Now that you’re aware of the pros of both natural canopies and gazebos, you can make an informed choice for your unique needs. If you need a helping hand managing your current natural canopies, contact a Crewcut expert for canopy reduction, canopy thinning, canopy lifting, and other helpful services.