We'll see about the shade. The roof faces north and the side against the house is shaded from late morning on and completely in the shade in the winter for about 8 feet out from the wall. My back garden downstairs has become mostly shade now due to an enormous banyan on a neighbor's wall. So, I use this roof garden for anything that really needs full sun. I also spend some time in the sun up there in the mornings, I am happier if I have a tan and so I let myself just lay in the sun for a bit every day. I'm not adverse to heat and I'm pretty comfortable up into the 90'sF. I will see how I use it as I have considered adding some shade particularly in the summer. I want to put the sun sail back up for part of the year and they say that I will have the poles available to do that. While winters are warm here, I don't think for me that shade will be necessary then. Also, the breeze up there is really nice almost all the time. We are about 20 miles from the Gulf and that keeps the onshore breezes cooler. I anticipate using that roof garden mostly in the mornings and the evenings, not so much in the heat of the afternoons.
