Courtyard Garden Design By Georgia Lindsay Garden Design

London homeowners used Georgia Lindsay Garden Design to transform their outside space.

Using a garden designer allowed the homeowner to create something beyond what they could come up with themselves. To have someone to think about the details to choreograph each individual element so that the garden is unified was ideal for these busy city dwellers. The Principal Designer truly thought of every corner of this garden design, from an outdoor working space with a place to plug in your laptop, to a planter with a ridge wide enough to place a cup of tea. Small details that create one great looking but also functional space, right down to the boundary fence.

Horizontal Tongue and Groove Effect timber fence panels were installed with a Diamond Trellis topper. Horizontal boards within the fence panel aid the illusion of a longer garden, drawing the viewer’s eye along the boundary. This is a great technique especially in courtyard gardens as it will help make the space feel larger than it is.

Keeping the fence low by using shorter fence panels helps to prevent enclosing the space which is crucial when dealing with courtyard gardens. It takes advantage of all the outdoor space which is often a luxury in bustling urban living. To maintain privacy into the kitchen and upper patio area, only Tongue and Groove panels were installed without a trellis topper in this area, continuing the solid fence style to the full height.

The panels themselves were used not only to create the perfect backdrop to the courtyard garden, but to become the support for climbing plants. Metal wires were installed into the posts with climbing vines and branches intertwined. Growing upwards takes advantage of vertical space and adds levels to the decorative busy borders, which is important in courtyard gardens. We will always advise every year to cut back growth from the panels to prevent ‘in ground’ conditions.

The garden design took advantage of all the sunlight throughout the day. Diamond trellis allows light to flow into the garden but also captures beautiful shadows on the stone pavers, which adds a decorative feature. A rustic metal planter was used to create a water feature. The water was dyed which gave beautiful tones throughout the day when the sun and shade would cover the feature. A pump was added to the water feature to create motion, creating a subtle spiralling movement across the top of the water.

The light and shade that has been created by various elements of the courtyard garden create beautiful, dappled effects. Whether it’s the light and shade which is projected onto the flowers within the borders, or the shadow lines made from the furniture, each choice is deliberate and unique.

On one side of the garden, a bespoke gate was manufactured to suit the gap between the last panel and the house. During the pandemic when the homeowners first moved in, this gap in the fence became a social lifeline between the two neighbours, who spent much time in their gardens and were able to conversate while maintaining the recommended social distance. The spacing under the gate is larger than usual, intentionally done to allow the neighbourhood cats to roam freely from garden to garden. This also encourages wildlife such as hedgehogs into the garden which we are advocates of as a company.

At the rear of the garden, panelling which was made from our timber, was installed to hide the chain link fence behind. Painted in a dark green colour the darkness helps to camouflage it amounts all the planting. The garden backs onto a school so it was important to keep as much privacy as possible. Ivy and well-established trees and bushes were left to eventually overhang and to keep the coverage above the metal panelling full. Using a dark colour at the rear of the garden where lots of shade naturally occurs, gives it a cloak of invisibility as the sun moves away from the garden, offering the vibrant plants in the border to pop.

Natural materials and elements in the garden were a key requirement. Natural timber panels, Limestone pavers, stackers and cobbles and repurposed ironwood which first use was in the marine industry, are large components to the garden. To juxtapose this, rustic Corten planters add balance to the design. Corten is a unique metal that rusts in the first two years and then retains its strength and stability. 

"This garden was designed to celebrate the natural high-quality materials specified. Warm honey coloured limestone paving blends beautifully with the earthy tones of the Corten trough planter and water feature. We worked closely with our clients to select the perfect combination of materials still allowing the planting to take centre stage. The combination of Jacksons fencing with a bespoke rear fence allowed the garden to recede at the rear and give the illusion of greater width and light at the sides. By painting the rear fence a deep green, it adds a sense of mystery and depth to this compact garden. The biscuit tones of the side fence panels works in harmony with the warm tones of the paving and the other natural materials. It was important the re-claimed tropical Ironwood bench was allowed to shine as a focal point without the fence panels pulling the attention away. Often fence treatments can be quite garish but Jacksons always has a natural subtle tone to the wood which fades evenly and works so well with planting. The lattice trellis facilitates valuable additional light into this urban space allowing the plants to thrive. We are so pleased with the outcome but more importantly our clients are thrilled with their new urban oasis." Georgia Lindsay Principle Garden Designer.