Grow your own shade...........

[Justdroppedin]

​https://i.imgur.com/81HbIqC.jpg

[Putski]

I did this a few years on our front deck ran strings up to the facia and had morning glory weaved all around was very cool.

[swan]

by the time it all fills in and looks good , it starts to die off

[Emporium]

by the time it all fills in and looks good , it starts to die off

It all depends on what plant is used.

My father-in-law used to have grape vines overhead on his patio. Took a few years to establish, but once they are established, every spring, they take about 3 to 4 weeks to fill in completely, and then all summer, it was a shady oasis that it could even be pouring hard and you could sit under the vine leaves and continue drinking :) And it would last well into late fall.

Since he didn't care about the grapes it produced, he would cut off the grapes regularly, so the vine would put it's energy into making more leaves for a thicker canopy.