Shade Garden Layout and Plans: A Low-Care Foliage Plan for a Shady Spot

Part of Our Garden Plan Collection

This plan is part of our Garden Layout Collection, a free library of tested garden layouts created to help gardeners succeed in a wide range of conditions. Each plan focuses on clear layouts, realistic plant choices, and long-term visual impact.

What’s Included

• A foliage-first (leaf-focused) shade garden layout, designed for corners or accent beds.
• Bold leaf color and texture from late spring through frost.
• A complete plant list with quantities.
• A low-maintenance garden with no deadheading required.

Shade Garden Layout Ideas

This shade garden is designed as a triangular corner bed, measuring about 8 feet by 8 feet on the short sides. It works well in empty corners, near patios, or anywhere a splash of leafy color is needed. Plants are layered to combine height, bold leaf color, and trailing forms, creating a dense, tropical-style look that fills in quickly and stays attractive all season.

Plan

The Plant List

1. ‘Tropicanna canna’ (annual or perennial): Stout, upright stems bear broad, purple to purple-green leaves veined with pink to orange, plus large orange flowers. It grows to 6 feet tall. It is a perennial in Zone 8 and south, and an annual elsewhere. One plant.
2. ‘Purple fountain grass’ (annual or perennial): Dense clumps of slender, arching, deep-red leaves with long, arching, brushlike flower spikes that start purplish and turn pinkish-tan. It is about 4 feet tall in bloom and grows in Zones 9 to 11. Two plants.
3. ‘Limelight’ four-o’clocks (annual): Bushy clumps of lime-green leaves with late-afternoon pink flowers. It is usually 2 to 3 feet tall at maturity. Six plants.
4. ‘Sedona’ coleus (annual): Once strictly a shade plant, coleus has newer cultivars that are exceptionally sun-tolerant. ‘Sedona’ bears broad leaves that range in color from deep orange to brick-red to pink-red. It grows to be 1 to 2 feet tall. Six plants.
5. ‘Purple Knight’ alternanthera (annual): Broad, branching clumps of smooth, deep-purple to near-black leaves in full sun; burgundy-bronze leaves in partial shade. It is 1 to 2 feet tall. Three plants.
6. ‘Sweet Caroline Light Green’ sweet potato vine (annual): Sweet Caroline’s restrained (not rampant) vines reach about 6 inches tall and about 3 feet across at maturity. Expect yellow-lobe leaves, not light-green. One plant.
7. ‘Sweet Caroline Bronze’ sweet potato vine (annual): Expect coppery-brown–lobe leaves. One plant.
8. ‘Sweet Caroline Purple’ sweet potato vine (annual): This Sweet Caroline cultivar offers deep-purple–lobe leaves that shelter small, pink flowers. One plant.

Quantities are based on one triangular 8 × 8-foot bed. The plants prefer moist but well-drained soil. While they thrive in full sun, they also perform well in partial shade, making this plan flexible for mixed-light locations.

Growing a Shade Garden

• Improve soil with compost before planting to encourage steady growth.
• Water regularly during hot weather to prevent leaf stress.
• Mulch to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
• Pinch or trim fast-growing plants lightly to keep the design balanced.
• Remove plants at frost; in warm climates, overwinter tender plants where possible.

Why This Garden Design Works

This design relies on contrast, layering, and leaf color rather than flowers. Upright plants provide height, mid-sized plants fill space with bold color, and trailing vines soften the edges. The result is a lush, intentional garden that looks good from planting time until frost—even when few flowers are present.

Foliage gardens shine where flower gardens struggle, and consistency matters. Key benefits include:

• Season-long color: Leaves stay attractive far longer than most blooms.
• Low maintenance: No deadheading and very little cleanup during the season.
• Bold visual impact: Strong contrasts in leaf color and texture create instant interest.
• Shade tolerance: Many leafy plants perform better in lower light than flowering plants.

Wit & Wisdom

In a foliage garden, the leaves do the talking—and they have a lot to say.

Remember: Flowers bloom and fade, but leaves carry a garden from planting time until frost!

More Garden Layouts and Ideas

See more inspiring layouts and garden plot plans below:

• Herb Garden Plan - for flavor in the kitchen, fragrance in the home, and healing in daily life.
• Perennial Flower Garden Plan - this garden delivers reliable color, texture, and structure throughout the growing season.
• Front Yard Flower Garden Plan - instant charm—and long-term curb appeal—to smaller landscapes.