Tips For Creating Beautiful Shade Gardens

Who says that a garden needs to be in full sun in order to 'glow'. A shade garden can be beautiful too – you just need to make sure that you are picking the right plant for the right place and are considering the practicalities and the aesthetics of shady areas of your garden. If you get it right then those 'problem' areas could become the areas of your garden of which you are most proud. Here are some tips to help you create a beautiful shade garden:

Get Rid of Grass

Many gardens suffer with a shabby patch of lawn that will never grow well in areas of shade. Instead of struggling to maintain a failing lawn in shade, get rid of the grass in that area and plant a more varied punch of plants and allow a far more diverse ecosystem to grow.

Choose Colours That Stand Out

Golds, yellows, pale colours and whites will stand out beautifully in a shade garden. Using those colours will bring your planting decisions out of the murk and allow a shade garden to truly shine, even without much direct sunshine. You could choose a colour scheme to tie a shade garden in with other elements in a sunnier part of your garden – or choose striking contrast between shaded areas and other parts of your space.

Think about Textures

Using a range of textures is also important to add interest and style to a shady part of your garden. Combine large, flat leaved plants with more delicate foliage and play around with the textures of the suitable shade plants to make your shade garden stand out better from the gloom.

Pay Attention to Shapes

A true visionary when it comes to garden design will move beyond colour and texture and think also about how shape can be used to effectively draw the eye in and back to shady corners. Dark foliage will recede into the background when placed behind something bright and, likewise, a bold bright shape – the shape of a shrub or small tree – can be used to draw the eye where the garden designer wants it to go.

Use Layers, Create Ground Cover & Make The Most of Your Space

Layering is key to the diversity and success of a shade garden. Create ground cover beneath herbaceous plants, beneath shrubs and taller perennials, beneath trees. There are even a range of flowering vines that can do well in a shady setting and will help every inch of the shade garden carry some visual interest.