Courtyard gardens, enclosed on all sides by walls or fences, can transform a cramped space into an oasis. They preserve privacy while welcoming sunlight. They make even the smallest home feel larger. We’ve collected 10 of our favorites:
Color Code
Above: By putting colorful patchwork tile on nearly every inch of the walls and floors of a tiny house’s open-air kitchen and courtyard garden, Vietnam-based architects a21studio transformed the miniscule into something magnificent. For more of this garden, see Saigon Story: Crazy Quilt Tile in a Courtyard Garden. Photograph courtesy of a21studio.
Balcony Views
When garden designer Brook Klausing first saw his clients’ townhouse backyard in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, it looked bleak: a chain-link fence, an old concrete patio, and a patch of hard-packed dirt. No more. For more of this garden, see Garden Designer Visit: Brook Klausing Elevates a Brooklyn Backyard. Photograph courtesy of Brook Landscape.
Privacy, Please
Above: In Manhattan, an airy hedge of bamboo provides screening at the garden’s perimeter while a pared-down palette of green and white focuses the eye on the center of the space. “The white limestone is like a canvas. When the sun is directly overhead, you can see the shadows of the bamboo and other plants starkly against it,” says designer Julie Farris. Photograph by Matthew Williams.
Above: A high-low mix of luxury and restraint (and clipped boxwood balls) lend a European air to Kristin Meidell’s Brooklyn courtyard garden. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista. For more of this garden, see our book, Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces.
Above: A feature of larger English country gardens is the outdoor room, away from the house: it helps to structure a space and to provide shelter. Here in a small London garden, shelter is a given, with frost almost unknown, making it possible to throw open the connecting doors to the courtyard. Photograph courtesy of The Modern House.
Above: UK-based designer Jinny Blom’s own garden on a hill in London. She had the back wall lowered to frame the trees and has not smothered the brick in climbers. For more, see Required Reading: The Thoughtful Gardener by Jinny Blom. Photograph by Andrew Montgomery.
Above: Says Christine, “One of our all-time favorite remodels in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood is architect Julian King’s thoughtful update of a Victorian townhouse, which uncovered character-filled historical details and created a sunny back garden.”
Designing a new outdoor space? Start with our tips for designing Decks & Patios in our curated guide to Hardscapes 101. For more of our favorite courtyard gardens, see:
