Small Garden Ideas:

Transforming a Messy Space into a Stylish Courtyard

So I’m going to be honest: this is a before and after, but I really had to hunt for “before” pictures. And that’s because this part of our garden was genuinely hideous until two weeks ago. Maybe “hideous” is too strong a word. Messy is certainly accurate.

So this is one of those funky little areas in our garden that has largely been used for storage and for staging construction materials. But the problem is it’s pretty central to the garden. It’s right off the workshop deck, and it is something that you see from the main deck and pretty much all other parts of the garden, too.

In fact, you might be amused to see the lengths to which I have had to go to shoot around it when I’m taking photographs. So finally, with the big construction projects done in the garden, it’s time to give this area a real purpose. And a glow up!

Now, it’s not as if we will never do construction again, so it still has to be a space that when we do have a large project, we can use it for staging materials. Therefore, I couldn't fill it with plants or build stone walls or any of the other elaborate plans I hatched.  Everything had to be flexible and mobile. 

Additionally, I wanted this part of the garden to feel intimate and relaxing. I wanted it to be a place that would be used. And I wanted it to be very low maintenance. 

So this little transformation is one built on two garden basics: self watering pots and Adirondack chairs.

We’re calling this: The Courtyard

Before…

Once shaded by a dying maple tree, The Courtyard occupies a blank space between the Workshop deck and the tree trunk. It is a great space for lumber storage and working on big projects.

The Inspiration

The Courtyard is shady in the morning – perfect for my morning tea. During the day, it is sunny – and hot in the summer. But in the winter that sun is quite pleasant.

I initially wanted to find a vintage bistro set for The Courtyard. I wanted to capture the magic of the courtyard at a hotel where we stay in Rome. It’s one of my all-time happy places. But I just didn’t find what I was looking for within my budget.

I filmed this video in that beautiful courtyard, so you can get a sense for my inspiration:

But I couldn’t find the charm I wanted within my price range. Somtimes we have to sacrifice our dreams just to finish a project. So instead of a vintage bistro set, I bought two Adirondack chairs from Costco. They are Polywood, so they should stand up to the Colorado sun, heat, and cold. They’re also pretty easy to move, and they can just be tucked under the treehouse if the Courtyard needs to become a staging area temporarily.

The Self-Watering Planters

I worked with my partner, Crescent Garden, and drawing on that Italian inspiration chose their Rim TruDrop self-watering terracotta planters. While they have the look of a classic terracotta pot, they have a HUGE watering reservoir and are made of a very high-quality plastic that can stay outside all winter.

With all of that water in the reservoir, the big planters are so heavy that I don’t have to worry about them being blown over in our Colorado winds. I also won’t have to water them often either. This is the same basic design as my deck planters, and those I only have to fill every 2-3 weeks – even in the heat of the summer!

That is low maintenance – but it also means I can be adventurous in my plant choices.

For the biggest planters I chose my all-time favorite tree: Amelanchier. This is a variety called Amelanchier grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance.’ It blooms early in the spring and is great food for early emerging pollinators. Then it has berries in June – great food for nesting birds! Plus, you can eat them, but I only ever get one or two because the birds eat them all. And I am fine with that! They are also gorgeous in the fall – thus the name. So this is a tree that has three seasons of beauty and interest not to mention being sculptural in the winter. And because these planters have such a big soil volume, I feel confident that these trees will survive long-term in the planters with some pruning to keep them smaller.

I filled the medium planter with Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Monlo’ – a variety of Ninebark. Ninebark is also a native North American shrub, and this variety has particularly beautiful foliage – green with a deep purple undertone.

How to Choose Trees or Shrubs for Containers

The key for choosing trees or any other plant that will overwinter outside in a pot is to choose one that is hardy to two zones lower than your own. For me in USDA Zone 5|6 that means choosing plants that are hardy for Zones 3|4.

The Amelanchiers are hardy to Zone 4, and I have underplanted them with Geum ‘Tempo Rose’ and Ajuga reptans ‘Black Scallop.‘ Both are also hardy to Zone 4, so hopefully the entire planter will overwinter just fine.

In the smallest pots, I chose another perennial shrub: Spirea japonica ‘Butterscotch Baby.’ These planters are very small, so I will move them closer to the house in the late fall – just for a little bubble of warmth. And if it gets really far below zero, I’d probably bring them inside for a couple of days. But that’s the only protection I think this little garden cluster will need. And that is a pretty amazing thing!

The Courtyard | Shrubs & Underplanting

  • Amelanchier grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’

  • Geum ‘Tempo Rose’

  • Ajuga reptans ‘Black Scallop‘

  • Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Monlo’

  • Spirea japonica ‘Butterscotch Baby’

The Courtyard | Planters & Furniture

And I moved in some items we already had:

The Vintage Sink Planter

That old sink! Oh, there is a story there!

We actually have two of these, and this one is planted out with Daylilies and Celosia – two of my husband’s favorites. That bright yellow just sings across the garden!

But here’s the story about this sink. These utility sinks were standard in our neighborhood when our houses were built in the 1950s. They are made of concrete, and they are incredibly heavy – upwards of 500 pounds.

Every once in a while, someone will be giving one away for free. This sink happened to be at a house with a steep hill in their backyard — which we didn’t know until we arrived. Getting an incredibly heavy sink down a very steep hill on a flatbed dolly was one of the scariest and most dangerous things we have ever done as a couple.

I honestly don’t even know how we did it without hurting either of us.

I know there was cursing. Very loud cursing.

And it took my husband a while to forgive me for wanting the thing in the first place. But we got it home, and it is never moving again.

These sinks make really cool planters which is why I wanted it. I have been unsuccessful getting perennials to survive here in the past, and I’m not quite sure why that is. It may be that there’s not enough drainage in the winter. It also could be that the soil volume just isn’t big enough. I just don’t know. But I planted it out with these daylilies which can, frankly, take just about anything. So we’ll see if maybe this time they survive!

Additionally, I have this cute little umbrella that didn’t have a good home, but now it does. I found this table/umbrella stand. You fill the bottom with gravel or sand or water. That ensures that your umbrella doesn’t take flight. And then you have a nice little table, too. It’s clever and was exactly what I needed.

The Accessories

The plants all surround the tidy little seating area and our Solo Stove. We have had our Solo Stove for years, but it has never had a natural home. Now it does! The gravel is a good fireproof surface. But I do think we need one more chair so that there’s a seat for each family member. I wasn’t sure when I ordered them if we had room for three chairs, but I think we do.

at the close…

While The Courtyard is a great place for morning tea, this is the perfect spot for a glass of wine at sunset. I sat out last night listening to the birds chatter away and watching the neighborhood bats emerge and head off on mosquito patrol. It was divine!

So will The Courtyard always be perfect and neat and tidy? Absolutely not! This is part of the work area of our garden. And there will be times when a project needs to take place here.

But for the most part, this is now a restful, peaceful place to start the day with a cup of coffee or sit and bask in the sun or take in the sunset. That feels pretty Italian to me!

If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask!

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Happy Gardening!
Angela

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