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The Modern Courtyard Garden
By Annabel Darvid
The courtyard garden can be the perfect haven of peace in an otherwise stressful and hectic world. These gardens are almost always small scale - created in the available space behind a smaller house or a city center home, and this is their biggest advantage.
In fact their limited physical expanse can place them above larger, rambling and out of control gardens. This is because for many busy modern people it is almost impossible to keep on top of the basic chores around a large garden. This means that sitting out in such a garden is not generally the relaxing experience we hope for - all you can see is the things that need doing! Some people can hire in a gardener to keep the plot looking nice, but then we lose an essential connection with our gardens.
A courtyard garden on the other hand is manageable, and usually pretty low maintenance. This means that you can spend time really enjoying the space without guilt or worry... So this article, unlike many others, urges you to see the courtyard garden as an ideal garden, not as a poor substitute for a couple of acres.
And there is one further great advantage to a courtyard garden for most people - you can take care of the design yourself. This is really great, because you will build a garden that is really yours, that reflects your design ideas and your personality. It's not a daunting scale and you can always change anything that doesn't work. Pretty soon you will have a garden that has grown with you, which is just what gardens are all about.
So how do you get started with a courtyard garden? There are some basic rules that will help guide your thinking. First of all remember that it is a small space, and don't try to fit in everything that you have ever wanted in a garden.
In a courtyard garden less is quite often more. This means a few carefully chosen plants and flowers work much more effectively than a whole host of plants each of which is lovely on its own. The human eye generally doesn't like a big mess of color. This is why courtyard and other smaller space gardens sometimes go with a limited palate of colors when flowers are chosen. Plenty of green foliage plants give year round color and structure and then brightness might simply come in yellows and reds. But if you really love the explosion of color provided by flowers, then plant them - after all nature doesn't differentiate by color.
This general guidance on planting also applies to the hard landscaping - your choice of paint and decoration. Usually dark colors will make a small space seem claustrophobic, which is not what you want in a garden. If you are at a loss, start out with white on the courtyard walls - it's easy enough to change colors when your ideas are clearer. And go easy on the decorative features - can the place really stand more than one sculpture or water feature?
Another good trick that you'll see often used is to try and extend the courtyard garden into the adjacent room. for example if the adjoining room has a wooden floor, you might choose to deck the courtyard, giving a nice feeling of size. Of course this is only a good idea if you want to link your inside and outside space - not everyone does!
Like all rules, they are made to be broken, but usually this is best attempted after you've gained a little experience! One way to gain experience without building lots of courtyard gardens yourself, is to look at lots of others with a critical eye. This is always best done in person - a garden never looks the same in a photo (many look better!), but illustrated magazine and book articles are really helpful. When you see a garden ask some basic questions like 'do I like it?' - this question is often forgotten - and 'why do I like it?'.
Then begin to dissect how the garden has been put together; the successful elements and the failed parts - light, colors, choice of plants, sculptural pieces... Figure out how they fit, what their effect is and so on. And look at what has been missed out! Pretty soon you'll be thinking of yourself as a very knowledgeable courtyard garden designer and all your friends will be coming to you for advice.
About the Author
Author Annabel Darvid has a passion for gardening and courtyard gardens in particular. Her new site, Courtyard Garden Project, contains plenty of inspiration for anyone building a Courtyard Garden: http://www.courtyard-garden-project.com/
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