You may not get it completely right the first time, but changes can always be made. Some forethought, however, will make the path to the courtyard of your dreams a little straighter.
Photography: Helen Bankers Styling: Lauren Olive
What are the priorities?
Consider first what is important to you. What is the area to be predominantly used for? Do you have children? Or dogs? Do you want to grow edibles? Do you want to spend much time gardening in it or is it more a place of relaxation, somewhere to entertain? Will you have to store utilities here, such as rubbish and recycling bins, gas cylinders and tools? How much space are you prepared to devote to each activity?
No matter how rough or amateur your drawing skills, sketching out a layout to approximate scale may help clarify priorities and ideas, and let you see what can – and can’t – be fitted in.
Consider the courtyard’s relationship with your house; what can be seen of it from where? Do you want to see all of it at once? Most courtyards benefit from a central focal point, a dining or seating spot, a water feature, a statue, large pot – something that grabs the eye before they wander off to explore the rest of the area at leisure. Too many focal points, however, tend to look messy.
Plot your path
Next is the position of paths and patios to consider. These are best not paved with impermeable material such as concrete, which as well as destroying any soil life below may lead to unnecessary expense and complications with run-off and stormwater drains.
Better to let the water permeate back to the ground as naturally as possible through pavers with spaces in between, or through the likes of shingle or hoggin, which is an attractive compacted lime chip mix popular in English gardens. Sometimes, path routes are obvious but you may wish to play around, throwing in a curve or two, or expanding into a sitting area.
You may want a circular route or a dead-end. Pace out the paths onsite if possible, noting where the sun will fall. Filling any gaps between pavers with small groundcovers softens large areas of hard landscaping. Try creeping thyme for the fragrance it throws out when walked upon, or the fast-growing native pānakenake (lobelia/pratia angulata), a pretty yet tough nut suitable for a wide range of situations.
A little privacy
Many of your choices may be influenced by the fact that small courtyards tend to be shadier than others; with south-facing ones getting less sun than those facing north or west.
As well as dictating the amount of sun, the height of surrounding buildings and walls can also affect privacy; the search for which is often one of the biggest concerns in designing a courtyard.
Tall trees may block out neighbours, but they can also create shade on your property and those same neighbours’ gardens, giving them cause to complain. Rather than going for height, consider smaller, spreading and airy trees. Their boughs will provide privacy much as a roof does, and with a more pleasant shade. Usually, you won’t want a tree in the northwest corner of your courtyard as it will block the best of the sun.
Branch out
As you won’t have room for many trees, look for those with multiple virtues. Kōwhai has a graceful habit and gorgeous blooms. Small golden globes dangle all winter long from the pretty melia tree aka Persian lilac. For good reason, it’s a favoured street tree in urban Marseille.
Not only do deciduous trees provide shade in summer and admit the winter sun, but they help mark the seasons. Especially desirable are those with flowers and autumn colour. Fruit trees offer year-round beauty – and food. Persimmons and plums are both comely and easy.
Form and structure
Wooden structures are additional sources of privacy and shade. They’re also a welcome object over which plants can scramble.
Picture the courtyard equivalent of a gazebo, pavilion, or summerhouse – a slight building of trellis or slats; its doorway garlanded with wisteria blooms. Or envisage a simple pergola clad in a grapevine; the hot sun filtering through its large leaves, ripening the plump grape bunches. Vines, creepers and climbers in all their varied and glorious manifestations, are a courtyard’s best friend, hiding a multiple of sins quickly and without gobbling up too much precious room.
Consider these options – an ornamental grape for the fabulous autumn colours; star jasmine for its scent; colourful mandevilla and the more shade-tolerant hardenbergia; bougainvillea for the buzz of the Mediterranean it evokes; and climbing roses just because they’re roses and are beautiful.
These will all need some form of support such as wires, trellis, or netting. However, many don’t need this help. Virginia creeper, ivy and climbing hydrangea are equally happy in sun or shade and all these climbers are easy to establish and demand little care. A hack now and then is usually all that is needed to keep them civilised.
Unless the walls and fences surrounding your courtyard are particularly beautiful, as in the likes of time-weathered brick or hefty limestone blocks, fully or partially obscuring them with plants becomes a win-win. Generously proportioned perimeter beds may be happy homes for a tree, vine or creeper, shrubs, perennials, annuals, groundcovers, cacti, succulents, palms, bamboo and tree ferns.
Plant guide
While your plant choice may differ according to your vibe – be it Moroccan, ferny, rustic or sleek – the design principles of plantings remain remarkably similar.
A small variety of size, form and foliage adds depth to a bed, making it and the courtyard itself appear bigger. Foliage demands centre stage in a small courtyard setting. Too many different plants and colours can make a small place feel crowded and claustrophobic. Smaller trailing plants soften edges and used liberally can bring together any disparate elements. Try nasturtiums, which flower less with less sun, but each jewel-like bloom becomes more special in the extravagant tumble of leaves.
Raised beds add interest through level changes to flat courtyards. The same effect can be had with clusters of pots of differing heights. Another advantage of pots is that they can be arranged and rearranged as desired.
Be seated
Such a fab space both demands and deserves seating areas. As a rule, smaller furniture looks and functions best in small spaces. Light, manoeuvrable tables and chairs make sun-chasing – or fleeing – easier.
However, should dining and socialising be one of your joys, one long table sitting down the centre of the courtyard may be more useful. Where space is tight, multi-purpose built-in furniture is a plus. The wide edge of a raised bed can also be used as a seat and storage, providing somewhere much needed and close by to stash cushions, tools and other paraphernalia of courtyard life.
Light the night
Adding lighting enhances those lovely long evenings under the stars. Select electrical lighting with care to avoid turning the courtyard into just another room sans ceiling. More atmospheric are solar lights, lanterns and candelabras. Real flame has a romantic and moody ambience all of its own.
While the look of your courtyard will inevitably reflect some immutables, such as its size, shape and position; its personality is entirely in your hands. Have fun.
More outdoor inspiration:
- Get the look: Outdoor trends and styles for a summer al fresco
- An illuminating guide to outdoor lighting
- Easy ways to get children into gardening
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