Create a lush, wildlife-friendly border for a shady city garden or woodland setting.
The Shade Garden is a downloadable PDF planting blueprint from The Gardener’s Lodge, bringing together naturalistic design, shade-tolerant planting and practical ways to support biodiversity.
Layered ferns, textured foliage and soft sedges create a woodland feel, with flowers in cream, white, burgundy, pink and violet adding seasonal colour. A mix of UK native plants and selected garden varieties provides food, shelter and habitat for wildlife, with interest extending beyond the flowering season.
Designed for moisture-retentive soil that stays slightly moist, this scheme can cope with some shorter dry spells once established. It is not a dry-shade planting plan.
What size garden is it designed for?
The planting plan covers a 5 m long × 2 m deep border - a total of 10 m². Recreate the complete scheme, refresh an existing shady bed, or use its plant combinations as inspiration for another suitable area.
For a longer border, repeat the planting scheme lengthways.
For a smaller space, use a fewer number of plants.
How many plants are included?
The full scheme contains 44 individual plants across 12 species, combining:
A labelled planting plan and shopping list show which plants to buy, how many you need and where to position them.
Where can you use this shade garden planting plan?
This scheme is designed for partial or dappled shade, with humus-rich soil that holds moisture but drains freely.
It can suit sheltered city gardens shaded by surrounding buildings, borders beside walls and fences, and woodland-style back gardens beneath an open tree canopy. It is particularly useful where you want to bring a lush, layered feel to a garden with limited direct sunlight.
The design can be used in suitable gardens across England, provided the light and soil conditions match. A shady position is not automatically a moist one: buildings can shelter soil from rainfall, while tree roots and overhead foliage can leave woodland borders surprisingly dry.
Choose this blueprint for soil that remains reasonably moist through much of the growing season, rather than persistently dry ground beneath dense trees or overhanging structures. Occasional drier periods are manageable with established planting and appropriate care, but prolonged dryness will require watering. Avoid waterlogged soil and very deep, dark shade.
What’s included in the PDF?
An illustrated garden design and labelled planting layout.
A complete plant shopping list with quantities.
Individual plant profiles.
A seasonal interest and wildlife calendar.
Biodiversity gardening principles and habitat ideas.
Practical planting and seasonal maintenance guidance.
Advice on soil care, leaf litter, mulching and managing moisture.
Use it as a complete shady border design, a starting point for a larger woodland planting scheme, or a practical guide to creating a wildlife-friendly garden in a sheltered urban space.
Digital PDF download only. Plants, materials and installation are not included.
Create a lush, wildlife-friendly border for a shady city garden or woodland setting.
The Shade Garden is a downloadable PDF planting blueprint from The Gardener’s Lodge, bringing together naturalistic design, shade-tolerant planting and practical ways to support biodiversity.
Layered ferns, textured foliage and soft sedges create a woodland feel, with flowers in cream, white, burgundy, pink and violet adding seasonal colour. A mix of UK native plants and selected garden varieties provides food, shelter and habitat for wildlife, with interest extending beyond the flowering season.
Designed for moisture-retentive soil that stays slightly moist, this scheme can cope with some shorter dry spells once established. It is not a dry-shade planting plan.
What size garden is it designed for?
The planting plan covers a 5 m long × 2 m deep border - a total of 10 m². Recreate the complete scheme, refresh an existing shady bed, or use its plant combinations as inspiration for another suitable area.
For a longer border, repeat the planting scheme lengthways.
For a smaller space, use a fewer number of plants.
How many plants are included?
The full scheme contains 44 individual plants across 12 species, combining:
A labelled planting plan and shopping list show which plants to buy, how many you need and where to position them.
Where can you use this shade garden planting plan?
This scheme is designed for partial or dappled shade, with humus-rich soil that holds moisture but drains freely.
It can suit sheltered city gardens shaded by surrounding buildings, borders beside walls and fences, and woodland-style back gardens beneath an open tree canopy. It is particularly useful where you want to bring a lush, layered feel to a garden with limited direct sunlight.
The design can be used in suitable gardens across England, provided the light and soil conditions match. A shady position is not automatically a moist one: buildings can shelter soil from rainfall, while tree roots and overhead foliage can leave woodland borders surprisingly dry.
Choose this blueprint for soil that remains reasonably moist through much of the growing season, rather than persistently dry ground beneath dense trees or overhanging structures. Occasional drier periods are manageable with established planting and appropriate care, but prolonged dryness will require watering. Avoid waterlogged soil and very deep, dark shade.
What’s included in the PDF?
An illustrated garden design and labelled planting layout.
A complete plant shopping list with quantities.
Individual plant profiles.
A seasonal interest and wildlife calendar.
Biodiversity gardening principles and habitat ideas.
Practical planting and seasonal maintenance guidance.
Advice on soil care, leaf litter, mulching and managing moisture.
Use it as a complete shady border design, a starting point for a larger woodland planting scheme, or a practical guide to creating a wildlife-friendly garden in a sheltered urban space.
Digital PDF download only. Plants, materials and installation are not included.
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