Colourful courtyard garden transformation

Sometimes transforming a garden can have unexpected rewards, as this courtyard landscaping project shows. Garden designer Mary Graham's client is transformed at the same time as her courtyard garden.

Courtyard gardens are often small spaces enclosed by high walls. Marg's garden was no exception: originally just a square of grass with a few straggly trees around the perimeter, it sorely needed a facelift.

"Our living area looks onto the garden, so we wanted something nice to look out on," says Marg. "And we wanted a patio or deck to blend the indoor and outdoor living spaces, where we could relax and enjoy the garden, and entertain friends and family."

She'd heard good things about Mary Graham from The Contrary Garden, and had seen her work before and liked it, so she got in touch. Mary looked at the tired old courtyard garden, heard Marg's requirements - including the quite tight budget - and set to work.

Between them, the ladies decided that a timber decking would best suit the space. Marg was slightly doubtful when Mary suggested a larger decking than originally planned, but convincing her wasn't difficult. "The larger deck worked better with the garden's aesthetic," says Mary. "And the timber matched the polished boards inside the house, linking the two areas together."

Mary designed an angled path through the garden, then turned her attention to the planting scheme. The selected plants had to be low maintenance and drought tolerant, and able to withstand the heat of Melbourne summers in a garden that received plenty of reflected light from the high walls.

She chose plants to match the colour scheme of the house, such as Cercis 'Forest Pansy' for a feature tree in the middle of the garden (at Marg's request), sea lavender, Felicia amelloides and irises. To lessen the impact of the high walls, she also included some ornamental pears in the courtyard garden design, which grow very tall but are slim enough to fit into the space.

Mary also left a space just outside the dining area - the hottest part of the garden - for a little vegetable and herb patch.

Marg was not a particularly confident gardener, but to save money she wanted to do the planting herself, so Mary showed her how. The active role Marg took in establishing her new garden in the courtyard has paid off with a new confidence in all things garden related. "I feel quietly confident about doing things on my own now," she says.

Mary is pleased to have transformed Marg's garden from something bland and tired into something full of vibrant life and colour. She's even more pleased to have helped transform a timid gardener into a confident one.

If you need some advice on how to transform a courtyard into a vibrant garden, find a landscape gardener in your area.

Mary Graham, from The Contrary Garden

How did the garden look before you started work on it?

The courtyard garden design was quite bare; just a square of grass and a few scrappy trees around the perimeter. Everything looked quite tired and unhealthy. There was a small triangle of paving which was totally inadequate for the space. The garden is surrounded by two-storey houses on all sides, with two high walls and a fence enclosing the garden itself.

What was your thinking behind the timber decking?

They wanted a deck or patio, so it came down to a choice of timber or paving. We all agreed a timber deck was the way to go because they have polished floorboards inside. I convinced them to make the deck larger than they originally intended, because I knew it would suit the aesthetics of the space better.

And you designed the path too?

Yes. When you take out a lawn and replace it with a lot of garden you still need to ensure there is a means of moving through the space. So I designed an angled path to create a bit of interest in the garden, and to allow access to the different garden beds.

How did you decide on the planting scheme?

In the courtyard garden design, we tried to match the colours of the plants to the colours inside the house. I made some suggestions for plants and once she'd seen them, Marg agreed with most of my choices. We needed them to be easy to manage, fairly drought resistant, and be able to handle hot conditions in summer, since that garden gets quite hot.

Looking back, what makes you most proud of this work?

I'm most proud of Marg, and how she's become such a gardener. When we started this project she had no confidence in her skills as a gardener, but now she's so confident. She planted most of the plants in this garden, and has maintained the garden really well since then, even taking cuttings and planting them where she likes.

Marg, the Homeowner

Why did you choose Mary Graham to do this work for you?

I'd seen Mary's work before, in a few different places, and had liked what I'd seen. I really liked the way she dealt with colour in gardens, not overdoing them but really creating an interesting effect. And a couple of people I knew had Mary do their gardens and they spoke very highly of her.

What was your design brief to Mary?

I wanted a low-maintenance, drought-resistant garden design for the courtyard, on quite a strict budget. Our indoor living area looks out onto the garden, so we wanted something nice to look out on. We also wanted a patio or deck to blend the indoor and outdoor living spaces, and provide somewhere to relax and enjoy the garden, and entertain friends and family.

How did you choose the plants?

I didn't know much about gardening at the start of all this, but I did know that I wanted a feature tree for the centre of the garden. Mary took me to a nursery and I gave her some idea of what I liked, and she decided which of those would suit the space and would grow well in our garden.

And you learned to love gardening during this process?

Yes! I wanted to plant out the courtyard garden, partly as a cost-cutting measure, so Mary showed me how and where to plant them. She's been good enough to stay in contact, telling me when to prune things, and even dropping past to see how the garden is going. And now I feel quietly confident about doing things on my own.

Would you recommend Mary Graham to other people?

I'd recommend her because of her ability to listen to my wants, while also being firm enough to overrule me on certain things, because I've been pleased that we went with her ideas and not mine. She did the work within the budget, was easy to work with, and her follow-up has been excellent. And I love my new garden.

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