Fully Shaded Garden Ideas and Designs

Bird's eye view of lush jungle-like foliage and bespoke circular bench and table.
This is an example of a small contemporary back fully shaded garden seating in London.

Mount Pleasant Garden

Naturesque

Small contemporary back xeriscape fully shaded garden for summer in Perth with a raised bed and decorative stones.

Formally Informal

Bright Green Garden

Bespoke bin store. Created to house two mismatched wheelies, painted in Farrow & Ball 'Railings' and dressed with brushed steel furniture to match the house. Topped with a lovely sedum roof, totally self maintaining. © Deb Cass

Zen garden under stairs

The Japanese Garden

An example of a Japanese garden has lot options. This space only measure 8ft x 4ft (3 square meters) As you can see in the photos, we incorporated a tsukubai (Japanese source) and a karesansui (sand garden) This work was carried in only 3 days !!!

Naturalistic Planting

Through The Garden, Inc.

Here, we planted succulents between large stepping stones to add color and soft texture to a walkway. The area surrounding the walkway was also planted with succulents, perennials, and grasses. This combined with the stone used creates a naturalistic environment.

Richmond Asian Garden

Northwest Native Landscapes LLC

This compact, urban backyard was in desperate need of privacy. We created a series of outdoor rooms, privacy screens, and lush plantings all with an Asian-inspired design sense. Elements include a covered outdoor lounge room, sun decks, rock gardens, shade garden, evergreen plant screens, and raised boardwalk to connect the various outdoor spaces. The finished space feels like a true backyard oasis.

Paths and Walkways

Oliver Nurseries

This is an example of a classic fully shaded garden in New York with a garden path and gravel.

Lytle Road, Bainbridge Island - Shaded Creek

Bliss Garden Design, LLC

Bliss Garden Design
Design ideas for a contemporary back fully shaded garden in Seattle with gravel.

Eco Modern

Eco Landscape Design & Build

Innis Casey Photography
Large modern front xeriscape fully shaded garden in Los Angeles with a retaining wall and gravel.

English Jewel Box

Mariani Landscape

A view through the garden rooms, a gravel path leads through to the many spaces. The path is lined with cushwa brick outlining the spaces. Terra cotta containers are filled with boxwood and petunia; pachysandra and bugleweed ground cover fill the flanking and center beds. A cast iron bench offers an opportunity to sit and enjoy the space, with the fountain creating a pleasant sound. The wall is graced with two standard form lilacs. Photo Credit: Linda Oyama Bryan

Woodland Retreat

a Blade of Grass

Irregular bluestone stepper path and woodland shade garden.
Traditional fully shaded garden in Boston with natural stone paving.

Pocket Garden

James R. Salomon Photography

James R. Salomon Photography
Inspiration for a classic back fully shaded garden in Portland Maine with a garden path.

Windsor Companies

The entire grounds of this Lake Minnetonka home was renovated as part of a major home remodel. The orientation of the entrance was improved to better align automobile traffic. The new permeable driveway is built of recycled clay bricks placed on gravel. The remainder of the front yard is organized by soft lawn spaces and large Birch trees. The entrance to the home is accentuated by masses of annual flowers that frame the bluestone steps. On the lake side of the home a secluded, private patio offers refuge from the more publicly viewed backyard. This project earned Windsor Companies a Grand Honor award and Judge's Choice by the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association. Photos by Paul Crosby.

Portfolio

Royal Fence

Photo of a medium sized rural back fully shaded garden in Nashville.

Southcliff

Gardens for Living

Photo of a medium sized rustic back fully shaded garden for summer in Charlotte with a garden path and natural stone paving.

G A R D E N - Pacific Northwest

Lore Patterson

Island Garden Designed by : Bliss Garden Design
Design ideas for a modern formal fully shaded garden in Seattle.

Naples Pelican Bay Carlton Place Villa Remodel

41 West

Here's what our clients from this project had to say: We LOVE coming home to our newly remodeled and beautiful 41 West designed and built home! It was such a pleasure working with BJ Barone and especially Paul Widhalm and the entire 41 West team. Everyone in the organization is incredibly professional and extremely responsive. Personal service and strong attention to the client and details are hallmarks of the 41 West construction experience. Paul was with us every step of the way as was Ed Jordon (Gary David Designs), a 41 West highly recommended designer. When we were looking to build our dream home, we needed a builder who listened and understood how to bring our ideas and dreams to life. They succeeded this with the utmost honesty, integrity and quality! 41 West has exceeded our expectations every step of the way, and we have been overwhelmingly impressed in all aspects of the project. It has been an absolute pleasure working with such devoted, conscientious, professionals with expertise in their specific fields. Paul sets the tone for excellence and this level of dedication carries through the project. We so appreciated their commitment to perfection...So much so that we also hired them for two more remodeling projects. We love our home and would highly recommend 41 West to anyone considering building or remodeling a home.

Modern Fountain

Kirby's Pools

Inspiration for a medium sized contemporary back fully shaded garden in San Francisco with a water feature and concrete paving.

Woodland shade border, Lexington MA

Cultivar, Inc.

L. McGrath
Photo of a medium sized classic sloped fully shaded garden for summer in Boston.

Fire pits and Fireplaces

GreenScapes Landscape Architects and Contractors

Classic back fully shaded garden for summer in Columbus with a fire feature and gravel.

Fully Shaded Garden Ideas and Designs

A beautifully designed garden is as important as the emphasis we place on the designs of our interiors. After all, our grounds (however modest) frame our homes and contribute to first impressions not only of our houses, but also of the households within. Options for garden designs can be as elaborate or low maintenance as your lifestyle and preferences permit – consider both your aspirations for how it should look and how much time you can invest in garden maintenance. Consulting a gardener or landscape designer will ensure you have a garden that suits your lifestyle, the local climate and soil conditions. But don’t forget that with Houzz your first stop can be collecting images of garden ideas and designs you love in order to inspire your garden plans and potentially share them with a landscape gardening professional.

How do I come up with a front garden design?

The priority for a front garden is kerb appeal. Begin by considering the area immediately around and leading up to your front door. You may want to opt for front garden designs that blend well with the style of your home – for example, abundant foliage and flowerbeds will perfectly complement a period property, whereas man-made materials, geometric shapes and contrasting textures are great ideas for a contemporary garden design. Even if your front garden is a small space, keep it tidy – if you have more space, make the most of it with garden ideas and features such as a manicured lawn, gravel driveway, water feature or garden fencing. If you don’t have the time or commitment to devote to gardening, then neatly pruned hedges, statement paving, hanging baskets, garden benches and outdoor lighting are all decorative, low maintenance garden ideas for your front garden design.

How should I design my back garden?

Back gardens typically offer more space than front garden designs and serve a more recreational purpose, so it’s important to know how you want to spend time in your garden before you design it in order to build in the features that you will enjoy. If you love relaxing in the garden and dining al fresco, think about patios, decking, garden furniture and BBQs. For the more horticulturally-inclined, incorporate flower beds, greenhouses or vegetable garden designs. Your landscape gardening professional can help you install structures such as sheds, pergolas and gazebos that complement your garden design, and artfully-placed garden ideas such as lawn edging and lighting will add definition to your chosen design.

How do I create a low maintenance garden?

The great news is, gardens aren’t exclusively for the green-fingered. Whether you’re not horticulturally-inclined or simply don’t have the time for a bit of landscape gardening, you can still have a garden design that looks the way you want by making some smart design choices. While many of us favour low maintenance gardens like urban gardens, roof terraces and patio gardens, lovers of greenery don’t need to sacrifice grass for paving slabs. Whatever you want from your garden, there are a variety of gardening solutions that can be built in to make life easier. For example, labour intensive features such as vegetable patches, greenhouses and flower beds can be optimised with an automatic irrigation system. These can be offset with fuss-free garden ideas such as hard landscaping, including gravel, paving or decking, and hard-wearing evergreens that require minimal upkeep. You might even consider replacing your garden fencing with slow growing hedging, which can be maintained less regularly than wooden fence panels. If having a lawn is important, there are different types of grasses in varying degrees of durability and maintenance. You may choose to take a more relaxed approach to your lawn – “wild” garden designs can have great charm if the grasses and flowers are chosen carefully. If you prefer a manicured lawn, it’s a good idea to invest in a “mulching” lawn mower that will recycle clippings and remove the need for cleaning up. Finally, there isn’t a more low maintenance garden lawn than artificial grass which can look highly realistic and keep your garden looking green. Garden ornaments are a great way to add interest to your low maintenance garden design – go for smart garden ideas such as solar garden lights which are both decorative and functional. Find some of the most popular design ideas on Houzz.

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