How to Make the Most of Your Courtyard Garden

Simple ideas to make every centimetre of your courtyard work beautifully, from surfaces to seating

Claudia De Yong 20 April 2019

Houzz UK contributor and award-winning landscape and garden designer. Claudia de Yong Designs offers a consultancy and design service for the private and corporate client. We are also able to source anything for the garden from plants to pots, paving and architectural features . Please visit my new online shop for garden products.

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As courtyard gardens are often on the small side, it pays to approach them as you would a room in your home, looking at flooring, paint colours and seating to create an attractive alfresco area. Take a look at these ideas for maximising space and light.

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Claudia De Yong Garden Design

Hit the roof
If you want to plant trees in a small area, try some umbrella-style specimens. The branches will eventually knit together to form a canopy, creating a secluded feeling for outdoor dining.

Here, four plum trees have been planted in a square. The branches create a roof above the table, which makes the dining area feel shaded and intimate.

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Karen Rogers at KR Garden Design

Boost the light
A sunken courtyard can sometimes be a little dark, so to brighten yours, paint surfaces in a pale colour and stick to a palette of green and white for the planting. Choose pale paving, too, which will act as a blank canvas against which to showcase furniture and plants.

Neat furniture can also help to keep the space feeling light. Here, the built-in floating bench allows you to view the space underneath, helping to make the area feel as roomy as possible.

Gotham Interiors

Open your heart
Free up the central area of your small courtyard to give it an airy feel by constructing seating around the perimeter. Built-in benches can also double up as valuable storage to maximise space.

Consider tiered planters behind the seating, as here, as they will allow you to grow a variety of plants, including climbers, for added height and a lush feel.

Bestall & Co Landscape Design

Extend daylight hours
The sheltered nature of a courtyard garden could offer the possibility of extending the time you spend outside.
Take advantage of this by incorporating a cosy seating area, and add even more warmth with a firepit.

Here, the seating area is bordered by evergreen planting, which will help to make the space feel secluded all year round.

Helen Green Design

Look to the sky
Maximise space in a courtyard by installing beams overhead along which plants can grow.

In this small central courtyard, the open space above resembles a large skylight. Wooden crossbeams have been added for climbing plants to twist around and, thanks to the addition of hanging lanterns, the space resembles an indoor garden room.

Discover small urban garden ideas.

The Garden Builders

Plant vertically
If you want to be surrounded by greenery in a tiny space, grow plants up the walls or fences. You could do this by hanging up pots, growing climbers up a trellis, or creating a living wall.

In this compact courtyard, the plants on the wall have freed up the floor area for dining and lounging, while still offering the benefits of a garden.

Laara Copley-Smith Garden & Landscape Design

Make room for play
Even in a compact area, it’s often still possible to incorporate areas where small children can play. In this garden, the designers have built a sandpit into the cedar decking, which can be covered over when not in use.

Use a soft material underfoot, like the decking here, and combine it with cobbles and sculptural planting to bring energy and life to the space.

antonia schofield garden design

Go big and bold
Having large-leaved plants in a small area may seem counterintuitive, as you might assume bigger foliage would make an area feel smaller. However, the opposite can be true. Bold plants can add valuable height and form, while bringing a sense of seclusion to your courtyard.

Combine different jungle-style plants and team them with dark walls to add drama to the space.

Karen Rogers at KR Garden Design

Create curves
There’s no need to feel limited to straight lines when it comes to courtyard designs. The curved paving and walls in this space surround a table and chairs. This focal point invites people to use the garden as another room.

Use rounded planting, such as buxus and hydrangea ‘Annabelle’, to link the circular elements.

Tell us…
Do you have a courtyard garden? How have you designed your space? Share your ideas and photos in the Comments section.