A courtyard is the most intimate garden there is. Surrounded by walls, overlooked by windows and often seen from the kitchen table, every square metre is on show every day of the year. Good courtyard garden design turns that enclosure into an asset.
Designing a garden courtyard that feels bigger
Most of the courtyards we are asked to look at share the same problems: they are shaded for part of the day, the walls feel close, drainage is poor and there is nowhere comfortable to sit. The answer is rarely to fill the space with containers. It is to make a clear plan and commit to it.
- One generous surface. A single paving material laid in a large format, running from the back door to the far wall, makes the space read as one room.
- Planting that climbs. Walls are the biggest planting opportunity in a courtyard. Evergreen climbers and wall shrubs soften brick and blur the edges.
- A change of level. Even a single step or a raised bed at seat height adds depth and gives the eye somewhere to rest.
- Light after dark. Low, warm lighting picks out foliage and turns the courtyard into a view from the house on winter evenings.
Planting a shady courtyard
Shade is the norm in London courtyards, and it is not something to fight. Woodland plants are adapted to exactly these conditions. Bold leaves (fatsia, rodgersia, hostas) bring structure; ferns and grasses such as Hakonechloa macra add movement; white flowers and variegated foliage glow in low light. A multi-stemmed tree, such as an amelanchier or a Japanese maple, gives height and a canopy without blocking the sky.
Sunny and south-facing courtyards
Where a courtyard catches the sun, the walls store heat and the space can feel almost Mediterranean. Here we use olives, figs trained on wires, rosemary, lavender, salvias and grasses, planted into gravel or generous raised beds so they drain freely. Terracotta and natural stone suit the warmth.
Water, sound and wildlife
A small water feature masks traffic noise better than anything else and brings birds into the garden. A wall spout into a stone trough, or a still, dark pool that reflects the sky, both work in a space of only a few square metres.
What a courtyard project involves
Because access is usually through the house, courtyard projects need careful planning: materials sized to carry through a hallway, waste removed in small loads and drainage resolved before anything is laid. We produce a measured survey, a scaled design and a planting plan, and can coordinate trusted landscape contractors to build it.
