Courtyard Garden Design Ideas and Tips

A good courtyard garden design can turn a drab and uninviting space into a magical one that is both beautiful and productive. An enclosed garden might be created from scratch, or driven by necessity when this is the only outside space available. Either way, courtyard gardens can be wonderful when thought and care are put into their design.

Understanding a Courtyard Garden

Courtyards are generally level spaces completely or partially surrounded by a building or more than one building. The key to creating a good courtyard garden lies in understanding the conditions that the situation brings.

Courtyard gardens have unique conditions when it comes to both sunlight and shade since the sun will often be blocked, at least to a degree, by the surrounding buildings.

Sometimes, the degree of shade cast can become a challenge in smaller city gardens. But often, the shade in courtyard gardens is desirable—reducing the heat in warmer climates and giving respite from the sun.

Courtyard gardens are typically very sheltered, without wind exposure. This can make it possible to grow plants that might not usually thrive in a particular location and climate.

Courtyard gardens can remain cool in summer in warm climates, but can also provide a warmer and more sheltered growing location in cooler climate zones.

Creating a Courtyard Garden

Courtyard gardens are a popular feature with new-build properties in some areas, due to the sheltered and/or shaded growing conditions they can provide.

When creating a courtyard garden, however, careful thought must be given to the size and orientation of the space with reference to the path of the sun over the property and the location. And materials use will be important too.

Often, the ideal orientation for a new courtyard garden is to create a space with full sun at the center and shade cast by buildings or pergolas/porticos, etc. around the sides.

The precise positioning and height of surrounding buildings and other structures will determine the amount of sunlight reaching the ground of the courtyard and careful calculation is needed to get these things right to find the right balance of sunlight and shade for that particular location throughout the year.

Turning an Existing Courtyard into a Garden

With an existing courtyard (or a small city garden surrounded by buildings) you won't have the luxury of being able to design the optimal space. The space may be more shaded than is ideal for the setting, or be a sun trap—depending on its orientation and the precise details of the surroundings.

The garden space might not seem ideal—but we can always find opportunity in the challenges. By selecting the right features and choosing the right plants for the right places, we can turn even the least promising of cramped spaces into a beautiful courtyard garden.

Key Features of a Courtyard Garden

Water Features

Water is a great thing to add to a courtyard garden, inspired by riad gardens and other Islamic gardens of the past. Ponds, fountains, or other water features can be important for bringing the magic to a courtyard space.

Paving

Choosing the right paving or tiling material for a courtyard can also make a big difference. Whether you have simple stone slabs, or intricate designs of small tiles or tesserae, the right materials will set the tone for the space and become the perfect backdrop for planting.

Material Choices

Materials choices are also key for walls and shade structures. It can be important to think about things like thermal mass and to consider how reflective certain surfaces are.

Color Use

Color choices can be important too. Light colors will be cooler, reflecting more light and making things brighter. Dark colors will soak up the sun and be warmer.

Reflective Surface

Mirrors or other reflective surfaces can be useful in a courtyard garden to bounce light around and increase the perception of size. But these should be placed very carefully to make sure they are not a danger to birds, who often collide with reflective surfaces because they can not discern between a reflection and reality.

Plants

Of course, the plants are paramount in any confined garden or courtyard space. Surrounded by the built environment, greenery is definitely essential to make sure you bring a more peaceful and natural feel to the space.

In addition to having in-ground planting space, for trees, shrubs, and other planting, it is also common to have containers overspilling all around, perhaps even hanging from walls as well as placed on the ground.

Espaliered trees, climbers, hanging baskets, or vertical gardens are perfect for bringing more vegetation into these human-made spaces. And of course, there are plenty of ways to make the most of small spaces to grow more food.