10 Courtyard Garden Ideas for a Real Wow Factor

Now is the perfect time to get your outside space ready for summer and, at AWBS, we have a fantastic range of products to help you. Here are 10 simple courtyard garden ideas to give yours a real wow factor.

Embrace your courtyard garden walls

Rather than allowing them to completely overpower your courtyard garden, use your walls to your advantage, to help reflect the warmth of the sun and the natural light. Using light-coloured walls in a courtyard garden design will really help to lift the area and create the illusion of a larger space. 

Patio and paving considerations

Use paving and pointing to enhance your courtyard garden. If you have a small space, large patio slabs will work brilliantly to open up the area. Black or grey paving, looks stunning alongside greenery and in a ‘sun-trap’ courtyard garden, while shadier gardens lend themselves to lighter colours, for the feel of more space. We have an extensive range of paving – from natural paving, to concrete paving and the beautiful Italian styling of innovative porcelain paving, in a variety of styles, sizes and colours, to help you create your perfect courtyard patio. 

Use decorative gravel

Gravel is a cost-effective alternative to paving, and can look equally as fabulous in a courtyard garden. From cobbles and chippings, to flints shingles and slates, our decorative gravel works beautifully in a courtyard garden of any design, whether a modern or traditional property. Available in an array of fantastic colours, our selection of decorative gravel looks wonderful with our range of attractive path edging, for a delightful finishing touch.  

Decking for family fun

A small space doesn’t mean you have to be less creative when it comes to ‘zones’. You can make a great family garden area with the clever use of decking. Perhaps add a sandpit into the deck, so you have the perfect combination of somewhere for the children to play and a place for adults to relax and entertain friends. We have everything you need to create a multi-functional and stylish decking area, with our timber decking boards currently on a great offer of 25% off!

Create a lawn with artificial grass

You may have a small area, one that’s enclosed and doesn’t get much sunlight or one that’s a real sun-trap and gets too much, but it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a lush green lawn. Artificial turf doesn’t need sunlight, nor suffer from too much, and drainage isn’t a problem either. And, you don’t need to worry about finding somewhere to store a lawnmower. We have a selection of fake turf, from Artificial Grass – one of Britain’s biggest suppliers – to help you incorporate a gorgeous lawn into your courtyard garden design.

Include planters and raised beds

Planters and raised beds used where the walls or fence meet the floor can help soften and reduce the ‘clinical’ feeling, and make your courtyard garden more welcoming. This can also help if you have particularly high walls, as the eye will automatically be focused on the lower part. We have a wide selection of contemporary and traditional-style planters and sleepers to create an attractive raised bed, as well as a range of quality topsoil’s, mulches and chippings. 

Add screens and trellis

Screens are a great way to gain privacy in a courtyard garden, as long as you use them carefully and don’t block the light out. The Grange Urban Garden Screens are perfect for courtyard gardens, as are the Adjustable Slat Garden Screens, which offer privacy and the ability to adjust the slats to allow sunlight to reflect around your garden. Using trellis can brighten up your garden, with the addition of some climbing plants, and also help screen off your garden from overlooking neighbours. We have a wide range of trellis, in wonderful styles including lightweight wall-mounted trellis.

Inject colour and character

You might have a courtyard garden that’s small in size, but it can still be big in personality with the addition of some colourful plants and flowers. Courtyard gardens are often shady, and big-leaved and glossy plants will thrive in these conditions. And the shelter of walled gardens lends itself to growing exotics that can’t survive in more open areas – think tree ferns and bananas and create your own courtyard garden paradise!

Garden furniture and accessories

Using garden accessories can give your courtyard garden a central feature, rather than it being simply a space leading to your back door. Comfortable furniture creates a lovely place to relax or for entertaining friends, gives a focal point to your courtyard garden, lifts the area and makes it useable. If space allows, adding a beautiful gazebo, arbour, archway or pergola can really enhance your courtyard garden, and a garden mirror is a stylish way to give the impression of a larger area.

Incorporate a water feature

Water features look stunning in any garden and, where space is limited, a raised water feature is a perfect solution. In a courtyard garden design, a water feature can have the wonderful effect of creating a sense of space by reflecting the sky and sunlight. And there’s no denying how relaxing and calming the sound of running water is. Our fabulous range of natural rockery stone is ideal for creating a water feature, in a variety of gorgeous colours.

For more inspirational courtyard garden ideas, visit one of our branches in Oxford, Yarnton or Swindon and see the fantastic offers we have on this Easter Bank Holiday weekend.