Shade garden design and ideas
Shade garden design means planting for the light a garden really gets: layers of ferns, hostas and woodland flowers beneath trees or beside a north wall, with a path and a seat set among them.
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8 real shade garden ideas
8 garden ideas for shade, and every one a real garden redesigned with the app, from ferns under a canopy of trees to a woodland path across open ground. Tap Before to see how each started, or Get this garden to try the look on yours.
Woodland garden design
Woodland planting made from open ground: hostas, ferns and foxgloves along a path or a curving lawn. 3 gardens
A curving lawn with a border of foxgloves, ferns and hostas along a wall
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A stone path off the lawn into a shady border of hostas, hydrangeas and foxgloves
Get this garden →Shady garden ideas under trees
Shaded garden ideas for the ground beneath a canopy: gravel paths, ferns, hostas and a water feature under the trees. 5 gardens
Bare ground under trees turned into a gravel path past foxgloves
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Overgrown shrubs round a lawn replaced by hostas and ferns
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Shady garden with a water feature under trees
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Coneflowers and geraniums under a tree by a stone wall
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A bare sunken terrace turned into raised beds, a gravel path and a corner sofa
Get this garden →How to design a shade garden
The few ideas behind every garden above, and how to plan a garden for shade from them.
What makes a good shade garden
A shade garden cannot lean on a blaze of flower, so it leans on leaves: big hostas against fine ferns, glossy against matt, in layers from the trees down to the ground. Flowers are the bonus, and white and pale ones, foxgloves, astilbes and hellebores, show up best in low light.
Know which kind of shady spot you have
Dappled light under trees, damp ground by a north wall and dry dust beneath a big tree each want different plants. Watch how many hours of sun the spot gets in summer and how wet the soil stays, then choose for that: ferns and astilbes where it is damp, epimedium and Geranium macrorrhizum where it is dry.
Plants for dry shade →Plants for damp shade →Plants for deep shade →
How to lay out a shady garden
Start with what stays: the trees, the fences and the patio. Run one path through the planting, stepping stones, gravel or old slabs, to a bench or a birdbath in the darkest spot, and plant in layers either side: shrubs and tall ferns at the back, hostas in the middle, low ground cover along the path. Repeat the same few plants so it reads as one garden.
Shady corners and side passages
Shady corner garden ideas use the same layers, and so does a narrow side passage: one tall fern or a fatsia for height, ground cover beneath it, and a pale pot to catch the light.
See it on your own garden first
Garden Design App designs your shade garden from a photo. It reads a picture of your garden, keeps the trees, fences and paths exactly where they are, and redesigns the planting for the light your garden really gets.
From an idea to a plan you can plant
When one of the designs clicks, the Pro and Max plans turn it into a shade garden plan you can plant: every plant named, how big each grows and where each goes, with a month by month flowering calendar so it has something in flower from spring to autumn.
12 shade garden plants
Plants for dappled and full shade, chosen for leaves that last and flowers that show up in low light.
- Ferns
- Hostas
- Hellebores
- Hardy geraniums
- Japanese anemones
- Foxgloves
- Astilbe
- Elephant's ears
- Lungwort
- Epimedium
- Sweet box
- Solomon's seal
More shade garden ideas
An overgrown town garden under tall trees becomes a stepping stone path through grasses and foxgloves to two chairs, in our small shady garden ideas makeover.
A side passage lined with bins becomes a stone path between hostas, ferns and foxgloves, with ground cover for shade along its edges.
Ferns, foxgloves and hellebores beneath a canopy, the way plants grow at the edge of a wood: our woodland garden ideas and the plants behind them.
Shade garden design questions
How do I lay out a shade garden?
Start with what stays: the trees, fences and paths. Work out how much sun the spot gets and whether the soil is dry or damp, run one path through to a seat, then plant in layers: shrubs and tall ferns at the back, hostas in the middle and ground cover at the front.
What are some ideas for a full shade garden?
Plant for leaves first: ferns, hostas, epimedium, lungwort, sweet box and Solomon's seal all grow where the sun barely reaches. Add white or pale flowers that show up in low light, and a pale path or bench to lift the darkest corner.
What grows in dry shade under trees?
Epimedium, Geranium macrorrhizum, bergenia and ivy-leaved cyclamen all root into dry ground beneath trees. Dig in plenty of compost when you plant and water them through their first summer, because the tree drinks first.
Can I have a woodland garden in a small garden?
Yes. Small woodland garden ideas start with one small tree or a few tall shrubs for the canopy, then ferns, foxgloves and hellebores beneath them, even in a garden a few metres long.
Can I see a shade garden on my own garden?
Yes. Add a photo of your garden, choose the woodland shade style, and see it redesigned in about a minute. Your trees, fences and house stay.
Are the plants real, and can I buy them?
Yes. With the Pro and Max plans every design names its plants: garden centre favourites and RHS Award of Garden Merit winners, chosen by a professional gardener, with how big each grows and where each goes.
Is it free?
Your first 3 designs are free, with no card needed. The Pro plan is £29 and the Max plan is £49, paid once, with nothing to cancel.
Can I try more than one shade garden idea?
Yes. Make different designs and compare them on your own garden. Your first 3 are free, and Pro, one payment of £29, gives you 20 designs over 14 days, two at a time, so you can see several looks side by side.
Why does my redesign look like high summer?
We show your garden at its peak, in full flower, so you can see how full it can look. It is an artist's impression: your real garden changes through the seasons. Every paid design comes with a flowering calendar, so you know what flowers each month, and evergreen shapes help it look good in winter.
Picture your shady garden in full leaf.
Try any of these shade garden ideas on your own garden in about a minute. Your first 3 designs are free.
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