Ideas For Small Enclosed Gardens

How to Make the Most of an Enclosed Patio

These ideas for seating, surfaces and storage will ensure that you enjoy every square inch of your outdoor space

Claudia De Yong

November 18, 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.

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

1. Lighten Everything Up

A sunken courtyard can sometimes be a little dark. To brighten yours, paint surfaces in a pale color and stick to a palette of green and white for the plants. Consider choosing a pale-colored paving material too, which will recede and allow furniture and plants to pop. Tidy furniture can also help to keep the space feeling light. In this courtyard by Karen Rogers at KR Garden Design, the built-in floating bench allows you to view the space underneath, helping to make the area feel as roomy as possible.

2. Make It Cozy

The sheltered nature of a courtyard garden offers the possibility of extending the time you spend outside. Take advantage of this by incorporating a cozy seating area, and add even more warmth with a fire pit. In this patio by Bestall & Co. Landscape Design, the seating area is bordered by evergreen plants, which helps to make the space feel secluded all year round.

3. Design Around the Perimeter

Free up the center of your small courtyard to give it an airy feel by constructing seating around the perimeter. Built-in benches can also double as valuable storage to maximize space. Consider tiered planters behind the seating, as they will allow you to grow a variety of plants, including climbers, for added height and a lush feel.

4. Add a Living Canopy

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 shades the dining area and makes it feel intimate.

10 Spectacular Trees for Courtyards and Tight Spaces

5. Look to the Sky

Maximize space in a courtyard by installing an overhead structure that plants can grow on. In this basement courtyard by Clare Heffernan Architecture & Design, the open space above resembles a large skylight. A ceiling trellis gives climbing plants a place to twist around. The addition of hanging lanterns results in a space that resembles an indoor garden room.

6. Plant Vertically

If you want to be surrounded by greenery in a small outdoor space, grow plants up the walls or fences. You could do this by hanging pots, growing climbers up a trellis or adding a living wall. In this compact courtyard by The Garden Builders, the plants growing on the walls have freed up the floor area for dining and lounging, while still offering the benefits of a garden.

7. Leave Room for Play

Even in a compact area, it's often still possible to incorporate areas where small children can play. In this garden, Laara Copley-Smith Garden & Landscape Design incorporated a sandbox into the cedar decking; it can be covered when not in use. Use a soft material underfoot, like the decking seen here, and combine it with cobblestones and sculptural plants to bring energy and life to the space.

8. Go Big and Bold

Large-leaved plants in a small area may seem counterintuitive, as it's easy to assume that 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 a courtyard. Combine different jungle-style plants and team them with dark walls to add drama.

9. 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, also by Karen Rogers at KR Garden Design, surround a table and chairs. This focal point invites people to use the garden as another room. Add rounded plants, such as boxwood (Buxus spp.) trimmed in a globe shape and 'Annabelle' wild hydrangea ( Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'), to link the circular elements.

Tell us: Do you have a courtyard garden? Share your ideas and photos in the Comments section.

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