How to Build a Courtyard of Plants

Enjoy the private retreat of a courtyard garden.

A courtyard garden is an area partially enclosed by walls, fences, buildings or trees. Whether your courtyard is a small area enclosed within the confines of your home and yard or a larger area situated between other closely spaced homes, there are challenges that you face in designing and planting. There are also advantages to having a courtyard garden, including privacy and protection from wind, noise and unsightly views. By understanding and addressing these challenges, you can design and build a courtyard that beautifully utilizes your space.

Things You'll Need

• Ground materials
• Trees
• Plants

Instructions

1. Draw a sketch of the layout and shape of your courtyard. Include buildings, trees, fences and any structures that surround your space. Position any pergolas or trellises present on the sketch. This will help you determine placement of appropriate plants.

2. Study your courtyard space at different times of the day and note the lighting throughout the space. Indicate on your sketch when the sun casts shadows on specific areas, what areas may receive no sunlight and which ones receive complete sunlight.

3. Consider the availability of water and adequate drainage in the courtyard. Add any watering system needed. This may mean adding a spigot for a hose and sloping the grade of the area to provide runoff.

4. Determine whether you will grow grass or ground covers in the area. Consider the amount of sun and shade the area receives. If you want grass, determine the type and amount of area you want covered. If you choose another surface material, like pavers or tiles, select materials that work with the design and colors of your house. Outline these areas on the sketch.

5. Build any structures you want in your courtyard. Plan the placement of fountains, raised planters, trellises, walls, topiaries and paths, which are important features and focal points in a courtyard.

6. Select trees with non-invasive root systems to avoid the roots spreading into valuable and limited bedding space or interfering with underground lines, considering the proximity of the house. Use decorative dwarf fruit trees to prevent shading additional areas of the courtyard.

7. Place sun-loving plants in the center of the courtyard, where they will likely receive the most sun. If your area receives limited sunlight, limit your sun-lovers to annuals in pots or other containers that you can move to accommodate their needs.

8. Group plants with similar lighting and watering needs together for low-maintenance gardening. Use plants such as ferns, begonias, fuchsias and impatiens in shady areas. Since buildings reflect back heat onto surrounding plants, use plants like palms, dracaenas and crotons that enjoy the warmth. Place plants like rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas in containers in cooler areas.

9. Grow vines on trellises or against courtyard walls to use vertical space and reduce glare and heat from the building's surface. Grow espaliered fruit trees on a trellis for focal interest as well as fruit. These will also help muffle noise and block unsightly views in an open area of the courtyard. Avoid invasive plants like English ivy, which can take over the space and damage surfaces.

Tips & Warnings

• Large areas of pavers or tiles can increase heat in a courtyard. Break up larger areas with raised flowerbeds, a statue, fountain or a focal tree.

• Consider colors when you select plants and furnishing in the courtyard. Blues, white, green and purple colors open up small spaces, while bright reds, oranges and yellow make spaces seem smaller.

• Don't add too many focal points to a small area to avoid a confused appearance.

• Avoid overcrowding plants to allow for proper ventilation, which may be limited in a partially-enclosed area.

References

• ACSGarden.com: Courtyard Gardens
• Green Thumb Articles; Courtyard Garden Design; Patricia Wainwright