Trees can be over the garden to at least some extent. I would definitely plant one somewhere. And if you want the benefit of it soon, one can buy big specimens - but they should be planted in spring, not early summer, and will cost a bit. There are also fast growing trees that will provide shade within 3 years, though you won't want them for long. But if you plant a slower growing nicer specimen beside it, then you have shade from the junk tree while your good one grows in. But OK, back to the shorter term. Immediate relief = awning, giant umbrella, etc, no two ways about it. Short-term - Your wires may not be that bad an idea, but even the most rampant vines (and really not sure you want those) will take two or three years to get up them (even clematis that regrow from the ground each year don't put on much overhead mass in their first year or two; perhaps you have a mature one you could move from elsewhere?). And then you have to consider that vines do put on a fair bit of weight over time, and just as they provide enough shade, they could rip your anchors out of your soffits. You can build all manner of free-standing trellises and pergolas, and a good old clematis or two would do your work for you within three years. But how much height do you need? You can only get posts that are so long. I built one that looks like a giant badminton net, used 12 foot posts and once they were sunk in far enough for stability it is only 9 feet high. If your structure is 3-dimensional you may be able to use 15-foot posts, sunk in less. Which vines to choose depends on what's hardy for you - not my forte, sorry. It's usually a good start to check your local nursery. KarinL

For anyone ordering drapes: here's what I learned going down that rabbit hole ordering linen drapes for our living room: I called a couple local places for a quote (local window covering stores tht sell everything) and they pretty much laughed at me when I asked to get a quote and said plan to spend 10k for drapes for a large living room window. Apparently they are not looking for business? A couple places never called/email back. oh well, moving on I checked out the following: 1. Jcpenney/HomeDepot/Macy's custom window treatments: all served by Custom Decorators Inc. (CDI) (for extra fun, check out their yelp/google reviews). When you call each store for window coverings, the call is answered by Custom Decoratr's Inc answering as JCp/Macy's/HD. From start to finish, everything is handled by CDI, but you think you are working with Macy's/HD/JCP. If there are any problems, there is noone at JCP/Macy's/HD to help you. I found this out when I didnt get a call back from JCP, made a call to Macy's, scheduled an appt., called back to JCP and learned it was the same designer that I had an appt with Macy's. ( why they wanted to schedule me through macys and not JCP?) For drapes and hardware, CDI sells just kirsch brand- it is not explained to you when you schedule an appt-they tell you you'll meet with a designer who has tons of drapery samples and choices. After the free in home consultation, I was nver given a quote. Btw, JCP used to have awesome custom window treatments but within the last 2 years outsoruced to CDI. :( 2. Shade Store- tested samples from Smith and Noble, loft curtains, and a few others from etsy. Shade store had the best quality linen drapes and that is who we chose. Smith and Noble was a close second, but I didnt like how my phone/email was slammed from SN "designers" wanting to "help"-aka get me to order from them. I blind tested my husband several times with samples and shade store always won out. Shade Store also makes curtains for restoration hardware. We did not choose the drapery hardware from Shade Store as the cost of purachsing hardware thrugh SS was at east 2x the cost ( shade store uses Forest brand drapery hardware, good but not "the best"). Shade store has an awesome selection of samples and I felt like all the fabrics were extremely high quality. If there is a shade store in your city they will come out and do a free measure which was very helpful. I was able to work with a design constustlant who was very kind, knowledgable and able to help out getting my cost down. Installation is extra - I felt $500 install was a little steep, so we will be installing ourselves. 3. Drapery Hardware: check out Designer Drapery Hardware, they sell all top brands of hardware: after a lot of research and help, we ended up witha custom Kirsch 1 3/8" desgigner metal motorized rod that can connect to your wfi, and its decorative at the same time. kirsch has several finials to choose if you wantfancy, and plain finials if you are going mdoern and simple. Deisgner Drapery Hardware will schedule a design consultation with you before you order for free, I must have called them 5 times and and they were as patient on the 5th call as the first. Before ordering drapes, be sure to spend time on their website playing around with the different types of hardware-lots to learn. If we hadnt gotten motorized, I would have chosen "select" brand drapery rod. Drapery is expensive and all in for a 13 ft window- linen drapes with a motorized decorative track rod is coming out to 4k for our project. This pricing is similar to plantation shutters we've purchased through jcpenney cutom decoratoring in the past. ( before they switched....booo- they put out at least 60 longtime employees with this change) One note, a lot of the companies have these eternal 20% sales- this is true, but I found their pricing to be very dynamic- both the drapes and hardwre price went up the next day after I ordered. i'm sure with supplies and shipping pricing has gone up quite a bit. Hoping these reviews are helpful for somone out there-drapes were our only choice for this window, it was a big learning curve and thankful to find a solution that completes the room.

Thanks for the pictures of solar shades from budget blinds, @HALLET & Co. Which mechanism did you select that uses a wand? The pics look very nice, but I went to the website and didn't see any info on their brands or pricing.

Did both costs include measuring and installation? I'm curious what others say. We are shopping for cellular blackout too and probably narrowed it down to the Shade Store, but they don't have many colors to choose from.