There has never been more choice when it comes to garden parasols. There has probably never been more confusion either.
Search for a striped or fringed parasol and you can find yourself scrolling through dozens of apparently similar designs at wildly different prices, trying to work out exactly what you are — and aren’t — getting for your money.
At first glance, two parasols can look almost identical — even when they are made very differently.
A smart stripe, a scalloped edge and a generous fringe can do a wonderful job in a photograph. What is rather harder to see is what is underneath: the frame material, the substance of the canopy, the quality of the fittings and, importantly, whether the fabric offers meaningful UV protection.
Those less glamorous details matter enormously once a parasol is actually being used outdoors.
Is the wood actually wood?
This is an increasingly easy detail to miss.
A pole can look beautifully timber-like on screen while actually being aluminium with a wood-grain finish. There is nothing inherently wrong with aluminium — it has its place — but it isn't the same proposition as a solid wooden frame.
If part of the appeal for you is the warmth and character of a traditional timber parasol, it is worth looking beyond words such as wood effect, wood look or timber finish and checking what the frame is actually made from.
Our Staycation parasols use solid beechwood frames. We love the natural grain and the reassuring, substantial feel of real timber; it is very much part of the character of the parasol rather than simply a finish applied to it.
And if you are buying wood, provenance matters too. FSC-certified timber provides reassurance that it has come through a responsibly managed supply chain — another small line in a specification that can tell you rather a lot.
Shade is not quite the same thing as UV protection
Perhaps the most important specification is also one of the least visible.
Of course, almost any canopy will cast shade. But that does not mean every canopy provides the same protection from ultraviolet radiation.
Fabric construction, density and treatment all make a difference, which is why it is worth looking for a stated UV or UPF rating rather than assuming that shade automatically equals protection.
Our canopies provide UV50+ protection, because for us a parasol needs to do the practical job properly as well as look beautiful.
After all, this is where people linger: long lunches that become early dinners, children playing outside, afternoons beside the pool, or simply an hour with a book when nobody is asking you to do anything.
That is precisely when the fabric above you matters.
And then there is the canopy itself
The difference often becomes apparent only once it is stretched over a large frame, opened and closed repeatedly and asked to spend a summer outdoors.
We look for canopy fabrics that combine the aesthetic qualities we want — colour, pattern, movement and drape — with the practical ones: UV protection and water resistance, alongside a frame substantial enough to support them.
That balance is important to us. A parasol shouldn't have to choose between being decorative and being useful.
When similar isn't necessarily the same
One of the pleasures of the current revival in decorative parasols is seeing much more personality returning to gardens. Stripes, florals, fringes and scalloped valances are everywhere, and we are hardly going to complain about that.
But it has also made the market rather difficult to read.
Two parasols can share the same broad silhouette and look remarkably alike in a small online image, while differing considerably in the materials and construction behind it.
That doesn't mean that everybody needs the most expensive parasol they can find. Nor does price, on its own, guarantee quality.
If the details matter to you, they should be reasonably easy to find in the product description.
More than something to stand underneath
We have always thought of a parasol as part of the furniture of an outdoor space.
It can anchor a dining table, transform a terrace, create a destination at the end of a garden or simply make somewhere feel inviting enough to stay for another hour.
Naturally, we obsess over the visible things — the stripe width, the fringe, the particular shade of blue, the shape of a valance.
But we obsess over the less visible things too...
Solid beechwood. Responsibly sourced timber. UV50+ protection. Water-resistant canopy fabrics.
