Shade gardens are gardens planted and grown in areas with little or no direct sunlight during the day, either under trees or on the shady sides of buildings. Shade gardening presents certain challenges, in part because only certain plants are able to grow in shady conditions. Very few edible plants grow well in shady conditions, so shade gardens are usually ornamental gardens.

Aside from the lack of light, shade gardens under large trees also tend to have very dry soils, because the trees use much of the available water.