Courtyard Garden
The oldest garden type on this island and still one of the best. Four walls, deep shade on one side, hard glare on the other, and a space that can be made pleasant with very little planting.
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A courtyard is a room, so treat it like one
Everything is seen from close up and from the same few positions, so the quality of each surface and each pot matters far more than in an open garden. One good specimen in a large container does more than a dozen small ones scattered around.
Shade is the resource, not the problem. The traditional Mallorcan patio is deliberately cool and dim, with a vine or a single tree overhead, pale walls to bounce what light there is, and water somewhere that you hear before you see it.
The technical questions are drainage and weight. Enclosed hard surfaces have to send water somewhere other than the house wall, and large pots on an upper courtyard or terrace are a real load.
Typical ingredients
- Large terracotta or stone containers
- One tree or a vine for overhead shade
- Climbers on the walls to use vertical space
- Shade tolerant planting on the north side
- A small wall fountain or water bowl
- Pale walls and a cool floor surface
- Automatic irrigation for the pots
- Lighting for a space used mainly at night
How this gets built
What grows in a dark courtyard?
Ferns, aspidistra, fatsia, clivia and philodendron all cope with low light, and a pale wall behind them lifts the whole space.
Do pots need irrigation in a shaded courtyard?
Yes. Containers dry out regardless of shade, and a small automatic system is the difference between a courtyard that survives August and one that does not.
Like this? Get it priced
Describe the courtyard and companies that work in small spaces will quote you.