Eh, I don't have any air conditioning in my house and no central heating either. I don't plan on having any ever, I think I would feel too guilty about wasting so much energy.

To clarify, I live in South Africa and we definitely don't have indoor heating/air con at the level of the northern hemisphereans...

It's a great idea, I'm sure but you should have heard my husband when I wanted to plant a wall of ivy to cover the house. "Do you have ANY IDEA of what ivy does to brick?" he asked and I said, "No. But it looks cool." He smirked.

A few weeks later I went to visit a friend of mine. Ivy literally covers two walls of her building so I took a very close look. OMG - The grout [or whatever you technically call it] was being drilled away by the roots of the ivy. I am not exaggerating.

I think I best keep this thought to myself. But thanks for the tip.

I want to plant really fragrant trees outside my house to do double duty. Not only do you get the shade but you get the yummy smell too.

I don't think I could live without my air conditioning. I don't care how much my bill is.

We have a maple tree on the south side of our house that blocks the sun all summer and lets it in all winter.

The problem is they take a while to grow. Ours is a little taller than the house now, but it's around 30 years old. But even 10 years ago it provided some shade and privacy.

It's hard to keep a lawn under a tree, because of the water needs and shade, so we planted a hardy shade-loving garden instead. We only water it about twice a summer. The rest of the time it's on its own and does fine, and we never have to mow.

Tree roots can get into clay pipes. Most trees should not be planted too close to the house, because they can invade foundation walls, nor a fence, because they will grow right through it.

I like the concept. However, here in FL, having foliage on your home attracts bugs and during the rainy season it would encourage mold and mildew growth, especially on stucco homes.

no one has AC up here either. when my dad came to visit from Texas he kept asking if we had AC. so funny. if anything, people in this city are heater-happy all year round. waste-ralls!

We don't have AC in the house where I grew up, but it's made of clay bricks and not concrete - the difference in temperature is amazing.

And excellent tip Casa, we have a wild grapevine growing outside the house (exactly like on that picture). That way it won't damage the walls, we have shade when the weather gets too hot, and at the end of the summer we cut everything to have more light and it just grows again every spring.

OK but how do I get it off the walls now?
Why ask me? I’m a gardener, I tell you how to grow and sometimes kill plants but I’m no carpenter or stone mason (both of which you may need now)

Lol the gardeners response for getting the vine off the walls once the plants dead

@ 98 F and 100% humidity...I have to have A/C. Don't you just love Louisiana? Just came back from Vegas and the temperature felt MILD compared to this sauna.