Courtyard Garden
This Courtyard garden was completely overgrown and unsightly with very few features worth retaining. It is always important as a garden designer to carefully consider the value of existing plants before disposing of them. In this courtyard garden instance we retained the tree at the rear of the garden, which in turn dictated the levels of the design. We built a London stock retaining wall to wrap around the soil and trunk, which also served as a seat to perch on, adjacent to the patio furniture.
The courtyard garden was further terraced to allow for the change in level, and a mix of reclaimed York stone and London stock brick edging used to reflect the surrounding Islington architecture and allow the garden to sit comfortably within its brick boundary walls.
Shade tolerant planting was required for this north-facing garden, which resulted in a decision to use a muted palette of green and white. Variations in foliage colour are particularly good at lighting up dark corners, along with predominantly white or cream flowers. Grasses such as Hakonechloa macra ' Albaaurea ', ferns like Dryopteris erythrosora, herbaceous plants such as Hellebores x hybridus and many varieties of Hydrangeas are all great shade lovers. There are many great plants that are happy in shade, and in fact I often prefer the cool lush feeling a north-facing garden offers.
The access into the garden was down a side passage flanked by a very foreboding wall. We built a staggered retaining bed to raise the plants off the ground and again used variegated and light foliage where possible to brighten the space. In an effort to save money in a less visible area we used ochre coloured gravel to match the brickwork instead of reclaimed paving.
The end result in this Islington garden is of a peaceful and calm courtyard that feels like a mini oasis away from the noise of Liverpool Rd. It will need a year or 2 to fully mature, especially the climbers, but well worth the wait.
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