Window film or heat blocking shades?

[ehrnst]

6. I created a living shade outside my windows - climbing green beans on twine, and sunflowers.

They shaded the windows during summer, and died off when cooler weather came.

And I got green beans.

If you can plant outside those windows, any number of climbing plants - non-invasive to your area, of course, might work.

We screwed in some large hooks over the windows, and strung heavy jute twine through them, secured with stakes in the ground. The vines went right up. We alternated the vines with tall unflowers.

We used matchstick blinds on the ouside of the windows the first year, before we could get a garden established. It really helped.