There is something magical about a shade garden. If you’re looking for shade garden ideas to add to your yard, then this is for you!
Shade Garden Ideas
Garden Pathway
A well-groomed pathway combined with a bit of “garden art” make this shade garden completely epic, and totally relaxing. Don’t be afraid to put household items like vases, ceramic pots, and benches throughout your shade garden. It’s important to “break up” the space with large pieces such as these.
Gardens With Color
Shade gardens don’t have to be all trees and greenery! Bright flowers like the pinks, greens, and purples pictured here make the lush greenery stand out even more! Of all of the shade garden ideas, this is my favorite!
Design
Experiment with the design plans of your shade gardens! This lovely idea comes from Better Homes and Gardens, and they show you how easy it is to incorporate pathways and seating areas into any kind of landscape you might have. I love how hidden this little seating area is in this shade garden! Everyone needs a spot to getaway from it all!
Stone Pathways
A natural stone pathway combined with shade-loving Woodruff ground cover makes the whole space look luscious and soft. A rock staircase can look overbearing and rough in certain gardens, but the Woodruff does a great job of softening the space.
Change In Color
One of my favorite gardeners over at Lonny shows his viewers how a simple change in color can go a long way in any garden, but especially shade gardens! Mix up the varieties of foliage planted throughout your garden, the subtle difference in the green shades here make a huge difference in the overall look and feel of the garden!
Country Gardening
Country Gardening seriously brought the “heat” with this outdoor firepit and shade garden. The lush shades of greenery mixed with the dark hues of the soil make this look like something that came straight out of a fantasy novel! The tall trees make this the perfect place to hide out from the hot sun!
Mix Up Garden Textures
The Bressingham Gardens has an awesome tutorial on shade garden design! Click the link for a great resource when it comes to mixing up garden textures with plants like fern and hostas.
Create A Focal Point
When creating your own shade garden, it’s important to create a “focal” point in your landscaping. In this shade garden designed by The Gardening Cook, she takes an old wooden bench and makes it the focal point of her backyard. Bright flowers and heavy rock stepping stones work together to create a fun contrast! Doesn’t this look so serene?
Be sure to check out this post on 10 gorgeous shade plants that love the shade to add to your shade garden!
Your link to the Birmingham Gardens takes you to a pinterest site on DIY coasters. Went directly to their site but couldn’t find the tutorial you mentioned. If you have a chance to fix this, I’d love to see what they have to say – I have a LOT of shade in my yard and am always looking for information on shade gardens. Thanks for the other beautiful pics!
Hey Carol! I am so sorry about the wrong link! I’ve updated the article, but here’s a direct link 🙂 https://www.thebressinghamgardens.com/inspirational-design/
I love shade gardens! Your beautiful pictures have given me new inspiration. We have many camellias and azaleas, three Japanese maples and there is a huge magnolia tree in my neighbor’s yard–so we have plenty of shade. Now I need to really enhance the bones of my yard with ideas from your site. Thank you, Caryle