Image credit: Shutterstock/Andrew Roland
Courtyard gardens are a familiar feature to British homes. From regal palaces to cosy urban developments, our outside spaces are often encased by three or more walls.
Designing a courtyard garden can seem like a challenge, particularly if your previous plot was more spacious. But while there’s no doubt that a garden that backs on to rolling hills and leafy glades is a thing of beauty, we have a soft spot for walled spaces.
Why? Not only are they a little easier to maintain, but they make a great canvas to create al fresco living spaces.
Our courtyard garden ideas will show you how simple it can be to transform your walled garden into your new favourite “room” of the house.
Though walled spaces have the potential to feel a little overbearing, these additional hard surfaces are prime real estate for more planting.
“Utilising vertical opportunities with trees maximises the usable space,” Fiona Northover of Karen McClure Garden Design told us.
“In this walled fruit garden (pictured), we ensured that every bit of space had an opportunity to play its part. Espalier fruit trees dressed the boundaries... [and] tall roof form (or tabletop) trees created a canopy above and framed the water feature.”
Green-fingered city dwellers don’t have to sacrifice their sowing schemes in a tiny courtyard garden.
A slimline greenhouse with a sliding door will maximise space and provide a home for your seedlings. It can be made into a part of the overall aesthetic by painting it a colour that either blends into or complements your planting scheme.
A practical yet luxurious courtyard garden idea is to extend your interiors outside with a rustic eating area. This is especially useful if you don’t have a separate dining room indoors but love entertaining people.
A space for secret suppers can be created with farmhouse bench seating, like this design from Doug Holloway, complete with twinkly lights. The surrounding walls provide a certain amount of protection against the elements, making it a perfect place to gather with loved ones for feasting throughout the year.
James Scott, managing director of The Garden Company, tells us what he doesn’t do when working with a courtyard or walled garden:
Resist the temptation to push planting to the boundaries of the garden, which will accentuate the lack of space, says Scott. Instead, “keep the eye” in the garden with deeper borders and additional features within the space, including possibly a central focal point.
These can become oppressive if overused, Scott continues. Instead, choose some specimen plants [larger plants that provide immediate impact] and underplant them with textural varieties to create long-lasting seasonal interest. Remember that courtyards tend to be more sheltered and therefore more tender plants are a possibility compared to exposed gardens.
Scott says it may be harder to capture sunlight in a walled space or courtyard owing to more shadows being cast. When deciding on the overall design and location of particular zones, such as a dining area, this needs careful consideration.
Brighten up and bring personality to the courtyard by making the floor a feature surface of its own.
“It’s good to break up some of the hardscaping with details that signal a different use for an area,” suggests Scott. “For example, a flagstone terrace may be inlaid with a brick path; or a dining section may be created through brick patterns.”
We love the idea of laying hardwearing tiles to inject colour and patterns into shadier courtyards that need an instant lift. Don't forget to make sure any tiles you choose are suitable for use outdoors.
If you don’t like the texture of any pre-existing surfaces or want to vary up the view into your courtyard garden, then a feature wall could be for you.
You could even create a multifunctional storage wall – this one incorporates decorative shelving – just as you would have a statement wall in an interior room.
This example from Alladio Sims Garden Landscape Design features rendered wall, which has been painted in blue, and is also partially clad with aged brass sheets to alternate finishes and textures.
Are you concerned about the time it will take for young climbing plants to establish and cover the walls? A vertical planter can provide an immediate transformation.
Depending on the shelving type, smaller potted plants can be placed alongside other garden accessories. “This adds huge visual interest and is beneficial for wildlife too,” says Scott. “It’s also important to know which direction your wall faces, to help with plant choices.”
Upturned pallets are a good option if you fancy taking on a DIY project, but there are readymade versions available that just need screwing into the wall.
As well as growing plants that will either climb around twine or trellises, there are ways you can install your own vertical living wall as a courtyard garden idea
There are a few different ways to create your own at home, including upcycling wooden pallets. But perhaps the easiest way to start a living wall is to buy a simple starter kit.
Many of these kits usually arrive with a base that you attach to your wall, and a system of planting pockets for you to fill. Some even have their own self-watering irrigation system – small reservoirs that use gravity to slowly drain water from the top down.
A striking circular lawn, like this one by Anna Helps Garden Design, creates an idea focal point to help any overbearing walls fade into the background.
Scott is also a fan of this approach. “It will be the first thing people pay attention to when entering the garden,” he says.
“It means that people slowly notice other features, rather than trying to absorb everything at once.”
A courtyard garden can echo your interiors, with the walled space creating a readymade “room”.
Benched seating, dressed with cushions, and blankets, can be used throughout the year for socialising and relaxing if you’re able to also invest in outdoor heating and a canopy cover.
Adding a central coffee table with potted plants and other interiors accents, such as a tray of candles, gives your garden personality and colour without you having to worry too much about complex planting plans.
In the same way that a central focal point keeps our eyes “in” a courtyard garden, so too can deeper borders. Scott suggests you don’t have to rely on narrow border planting to free up space, as his design, built by The Garden Company shows here.
Additionally, the sheltered conditions provided by walled spaces means gardeners can add fragrant planting.
“A personal favourite is Trachelospermum jasminoides or Star Jasmine,” he says. “It’s a lovely climber with richly perfumed white flowers and evergreen foliage. In a walled space, the scent can be contained, adding a further sensory experience to the enjoyment of the garden.”
A simple trick to draw light into a particularly dark corner of a courtyard garden is to hang a mirror.
Mirrors added to walled gardens reflect light from brighter spots and create the illusion of portals into more space. This example benefits from added lighting, which brightens things even further. This is a useful trick to break up the darker hues of evergreen plants.
In very small courtyard gardens, planting may need to be secondary to the pre-existing hard surfaces.
Garden designer Marlene Lento says that a 70/30 weighting between hard and soft landscaping is an aesthetically pleasing proportion (and this can work either way depending on your final design and size of the space).
“Choose evergreens [that keep their leaves year-round], limit colour and pay attention to the texture of the foliage,” she suggests in this instance. “Be bold and don’t be afraid of large gestures such as large plants, large planters – or a tree. However, one item has to be the clear focal point and the rest of the design is more or less the supporting cast. Repeat a small number of plants to create a cohesive scheme.”
In very small spaces, refining plant choices into a concise colour scheme and focusing instead on a variety of texture is a smarter way to create this cohesion. It helps to keep the courtyard from becoming too busy, yet can still appear abundant in foliage.
Cover up unsightly courtyard walls with rendered concrete (you could polish this for a smoother finish).
This not only creates a consistent, more modern look, but is also a great blank canvas for planting, hanging art and adding contrasting furniture made using natural materials. Rattan and bamboo are popular, but make sure they are waterproofed, or can be covered in wet weather.
Some people may prefer the aesthetic and sound of gravel underfoot in a courtyard garden, rather than paving slabs or another hard surface.
Gravel adds another texture alongside planting to juxtapose with exposed bricked walls, like this example from Anna Helps Garden Design. Replacing existing tired slabs with gravel is an efficient way to quickly transform the aesthetics of a courtyard garden.
Be careful about the size of shingle you use, however. It needs to feel comfortable and sturdy underfoot if it’s being walked on – 20mm is good for this, and 40mm if it’s for plant beds or display. Avoid smaller "pea" shingle as it can be mistaken for cat litter, encouraging the local felines to use it as a toilet.
Shady areas are a given in a courtyard garden, as the sun won’t be able to bathe every surface in its rays throughout the day.
But you don’t need to leave this fertile space in the dark. There are a number of wall-climbing plants that don’t mind these shady realms, and we’ve chosen three that are particularly easy to maintain...
If you don’t want the inconvenience of attaching twine or a trellis to the wall, then try a self-supporting plant. Hydrangea seemannii or Seemann’s hydrangea, is an evergreen with pretty, small white flowers appearing in summer that can be grown in full shade if needed. This means it can be grown on a courtyard garden wall facing any direction. As the plant originates from the warmer climes of Mexico, try to find a spot that isn’t exposed in frosty conditions.
Though Clematis “Carnaby” is deciduous, it rewards gardeners with two flowering seasons – one in spring and another at the end of summer. Its roots need shade, but its foliage and blushing pink flowers can be grown in full sun or partial shade. You’ll need to tease this climber around a trellis or along wire or twine. This clematis will thrive in a large, well-drained container.
Evergreen ivy is ideal if you’re seeking lots of wall coverage. It does need some trimming due to how fast it grows, but Hedera helix “Goldheart” can provide cover for wildlife in shady areas of a courtyard garden. Its dark green leaves are occasionally brightened with a splash of gold. This ivy will flower in autumn and provide small black fruit for birds visiting your outside space.
You may want to completely cover your walls in foliage to make a green oasis, but without the maintenance.
Climbers such as common ivy, Boston ivy or climbing hydrangeas can be good options for people who don’t want to prune or train fruit trees, and would prefer their wall plants to be able to cling to the surface without any help.
Dense foliage can be broken up with hanging planters. We love this idea of attaching small bucket planters that can inject some bright blooms between the foliage.
Adding more walls won’t necessarily shrink the space. If executed carefully, like this Chinese-influenced garden from May & Watts Garden Design, you can carve out cosy sections that play to the strengths of bright patches for dining and secluded shady spots for relaxed planting.
The interior space of a garden can be sliced through with decorative, low-level walls. The walls pictured contain inset panels of green glazed lotus tiles and are clad with natural grey clay brick slips and capped with reclaimed terracotta tiles.
Try these clever ways with rocks, pebbles and boulders to transform your terrain.
Discover how to make a small garden look bigger with our useful guide that’s crammed with easy tricks, from your choice of floor to the clever use of plants and accessories.
From edibles to low maintenance there's a plant that's right for everyone
Regardless of the weather outside, your conservatory can be home to a variety of indoor plants.
