Need to get shade cover in your backyard? Then go for this DIY Garden Canopy project. I know I need one. Not for the sun, but for the occasional rain drizzles instead. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here in the UK but the season for sitting outside in the garden isn't a long stretch of time. It’s not so much that it is too cold or that the sun is not yet strong enough. It's more that I need a solution that would cheer me up and allow me to finish my tea, i.e. handle those surprise 5-minute-long rain falls.
This is the scene:
You walk outside with your coffee, tablet, portfolio of ideas and a small box of home-baked cookies. You sit down and make yourself comfortable. You just get into things, and …. all of a sudden you have to bring everything inside. It rains. If you don’t you and all your belongings will get s-o-a-k-e-d!!! But, very shortly after, you could bring everything out again. But you don’t. Sad. Something needs to happen!!!
DIY Canopy for Backyard, Deck or Porch
To avoid all that hassle, a super - simple garden canopy such as this one depicted here would be be sufficient. While a round tent-shape cloth canopy would better match the organic patio shape in my back yard, the rectangular nature of this model here is the easiest ever: no measuring, no cutting: use that fabric as it comes off the roll!
And the general idea of making your own cement-based planters in which to place elegant bamboo sticks is brilliant.
The construction of this canopy in the picture is super-sturdy as the 4 planters are filled first with some cement (handmade by you), then some gravel (poured by you) and then topped with soil and decorative plants (planted by you). Just before you pour that cement, have a friend or your daughter hold a wide pvc pipe in the center of the pot. Use this pipe to put the bamboo poles in. So clever and tidy. And verrrryyyy easy to do. I am all inspired.
This is an easy, budget home decorating solution.
Garden canopy or outdoor gazebo: what's the difference?
Now you may not live in the UK but in southern US instead. In that case, you need to consider if you need an outdoor gazebo or an outdoor canopy. There's a difference. Your garden gazebo will be typically a sturdier and more permanent - but often still semi-permanent - structure. Like a canopy, it will still be a roof and have open sides. If you want something that will work for year-round garden enjoyment, then go garden gazebo. However, if you want something you can put up for a few summer weekend outdoor lunches, you'll find that a canopy what's best: it's lightweight, portable and temporary.
How to Make an Garden Canopy
Enhance your outdoor space with this easy, inexpensive DIY
Materials You'll Need
Consumables you'll need for this project are:
3 80-lb. bags cement mix
1 40-lb. bag of gravel
Soil
4 lengths Schedule 40 PVC pipe, cut to same length as height of planter (most hardware stores will cut to size)
4 22" to 24" tapered planters, 10" diameter at base
4 8' bamboo poles
3 yards outdoor fabric, 54" wide
Grommet kit, ¼" diameter
4 cable ties
Plants
Tools you'll need
Other tools, equipment & help you'll need include:
A partner to help you :-)
5 5-gallon Buckets
Shovel
Tape measure
Handsaw
Power drill with ¼" drill bit
Pencil
Scissors
Iron
Step 1 - Prepare cement
Let's start with making cement. Start with adding approx. 3" of water to a bucket. Then, have your partner slowly pour approx. 60 lb. of cement mix into your bucket. In the meantime, you stir the mixture with a shovel.
What's the right cement mixture? When your mix resembles thick pancake batter. And that's when you place 1 of your PVC pipes in center of your 2nd bucket. While you hold the pipe in place, your partner pours the mixed cement around pipe. Hold pipe in place for 60 seconds. Repeat process for remaining three buckets. Let it set overnight ...
... and you'll be amazed tomorrow: you've got cement! If you've never worked with cement before, let me share: this is quite exciting.
Step 2 - Create the foundation
Position your planters approximately where you want them in your garden or on your patio. Place them so that they'll form the rectangle of the canopy you're creating, i.e. 54" wide and 6' - 8' long. Pour 2" gravel into each planter and distribute evenly.
Next, you'll put one of your concrete-filled buckets into each planter. Center each bucket in planter and adjust until it sits level, with pipe extending 1" to 2" above rim of planter. Fill planters with soil, being careful not to fill PVC pipe. That was all for the foundation step.
Step 3 - Build height
Now we start building height. Insert a bamboo pole into pipe in each planter. Decide what height you want canopy to be. In the pictures, the height is 6½ feet (198 cm). Cut bamboo poles to that length.
Step 4 - Roof prep
Drill ¼" hole about 1" from end of each bamboo pole. Re-insert poles into planters.
Step 5 - Prep fabric
Measuring, Cutting: let's work out how much fabric you'll need. Measure twice, cut once. Adjust distance between poles to your liking, with short ends measuring 54" (137 cm) pole-to-pole. Measure length between poles and add 4" (10 cm). Now cut your fabric to that length.
Finish Fabric Edges, Add Grommets: Fold raw edge over 1" (2.5 cm); press with iron. Fold over 1" (2.5 cm) again; press. Do the same for the other end of fabric. Your grommet kit will have its own instructions. Following them and install a grommet at each corner.
Step 6 - Assemble your garden canopy
Remove poles from pots. To attach outdoor fabric to poles, thread a cable tie through a drill hole, out top of pole and through grommet. Close cable tie. Repeat for remaining three poles. Insert poles with attached fabric into planters. Adjust distance between planters until you achieve amount of draping you like. Add plants to planters as desired.
DIY Garden Canopy photo credit | project source: AllYou (The How-to tutorial with detail was originally featured at allyou.com/budget-home/easy-decorating/how-to-make-a-canopy-00411000072311/. This site is no longer in existence, and this project too good to go to waste, so I am sharing it with you here. If anyone has any objections to this, please let us know).
Design Considerations
This canopy is held down by 4 sturdy bamboo poles that are anchored down by a total weight of 240-lb of cement and 40-lb. of gravel. Plus the weight of the 4 pots themselves. Say 300 lbs. all up. Heavy, right?! Well, this is the sort of weight that you will need if you are having a canopy of this size: 3 yards of 54” wide fabric. It’s outdoor-quality fabric, i.e. some sort of canvas or other heavy-duty, water repellent fabric. While there are many variables at play: if you make your canopy to be less than 3-yard, it is probably sturdier. You could add a 5th pole at the back in the middle.
Another factor to keep in mind is the wind. If you live in a windy zone, you will want to go for lighter-weight fabric and heavier bases to hold it down. We now live by the sea and recent storms knocked the bike shed of our neighbors over. This may be a reality for you and so we might as well design things properly with our reality in mind. And besides the weight management to hold that large piece of canopy fabric down, be sure to also use sturdy fabric fasteners to attach the fabric canopy to the support poles.
Design tip: By placing the cement blocks in your planters as is recommended here, they become removable if you'd like. If you use plants with year-round appeal, you can leave the cement blocks in place. No one is going to know they are also the pillars for your summer garden canopy. You can disassemble the project when your event or the heat of the summer is over. Store your canopy fabric and bamboo sticks in the shed for later re-use.
Other Garden & Gardening Projects
Be sure to enjoy our entire outdoor living section!!!!! We have featured so many good tutorials for outdoor DIY & craft project now, that I really want to highlight this blog section!
Choose between:
Or, simply search for ‘porch’, ‘patio’, ‘outdoor’, ‘garden’, ‘gardening’ etc., and you’ll get to browse around for yourself and find even more garden crafts & DIY projects.
Be sure to find the DIY outdoor shower (so cool!), the recycled tire swing, my favorite porches, how to make a garden path, wooden or stone garden benches, DIY eco-friendly fire pits, vertical garden tutorials. And my latest article, how to make your own seed bombs.
