Woodland garden planting for dappled shade.
A woodland garden is the loveliest way to plant dappled shade: a naturalistic, layered scheme of ferns, foxgloves, hellebores and spring flowers beneath the canopy, the way plants grow at the edge of a real wood. Here is how to create that relaxed, shady beauty at home.
First design free · no card needed · UK plants
After
BeforeHow a woodland garden is layered
A woodland garden copies the layers of a real wood: a canopy of trees, an understorey of shrubs, and a rich carpet of ground-level planting that flowers early, before the leaves close overhead. That succession is the magic – spring bulbs and flowers first, then ferns and foliage taking over for a cool, green summer.
It is naturalistic and forgiving: plants are allowed to drift and self-seed, so it knits together and looks after itself once established. Ideal beneath existing trees or on a shady boundary.
Woodland garden plants
Your planting plan lists them in full, with how many to buy and where each goes – so the garden in the picture is one you can actually plant.
Ferns
the backbone of woodland planting – fine texture in shade
Foxgloves
tall spires that seed through a woodland border
Hellebores
evergreen leaves and early flower under the canopy
Hardy geraniums
spreading ground cover between shrubs and trees
Japanese anemones
elegant late colour that lights up dappled shade
Lungwort
early flowers and silver-spotted leaves for the woodland floor
Epimedium
dainty spring flowers and tough evergreen ground cover
Solomon's seal
arching stems and dangling white bells for a shady drift
Wood anemones
carpeting spring flowers for a naturalistic feel
Elephant's ears
bold evergreen leaves to anchor the edges
See a woodland border on your own garden
Upload a photo of your shady, dappled area and get it back designed as a naturalistic woodland border – a photorealistic picture, with your existing trees kept exactly where they are.
When you love it, the planting plan names every plant, how many to buy and where each goes. Your first design is free, so you can see it before spending anything.
Good to know.
Everything people ask about woodland garden planting.
How does the AI garden design work?
Upload a photo of your garden or a single border, and tell us what you'd like: refresh your borders, keeping your garden's shape, or redesign the whole space with new layout, paths and planting. Pick a style, and we generate a photorealistic redesign of your actual garden. When you love one, unlock its planting plan – every plant, how many to buy, and where each goes.
Are the plants real – can I actually buy and plant them?
Yes. Every design can become a planting plan of real, available UK plants, with quantities, each plant's mature height and spread, where it goes and a month-by-month flowering guide. The plans are built on real horticultural data and shaped by a professional gardener – not generic AI guesses – so the garden in the picture is a garden you can genuinely plant.
Is the first design really free, and what does it cost after?
Your first design is genuinely free, with no card required. After that, subscriptions start at £19 a month. The professional planting plan is a separate one-off you only buy if you want to make a design real.
Do I need trees already to make a woodland garden?
It helps, but it is not essential – even a shady boundary or a single existing tree gives enough dappled shade to grow woodland plants. The design works with whatever trees and shade you already have.
More planting guides.
Your garden is one photo away.
See it redesigned in about two minutes. The first one's on us.