Create a cool courtyard oasis this summer

Is your courtyard looking a little neglected? With summer on the way, now is the ideal time to create a stylish and inviting oasis with a few simple design tricks. Think of it as a weekend project that will pay dividends for months. 

By treating your courtyard as an outdoor room and adding some vertical planting, gorgeous container plants, lighting and comfortable seating, this may well become your favourite summer hang-out. Read on for our simple yet effective garden design tips.

Use your walls 

If you have limited space, vertical planters are the answer, adding greenery without taking up too much floor space. Plus, green walls are cooling on hot days. Vertical gardens are surprisingly easy to maintain as long as you keep the plants well watered, or buy a planter with a self-watering system. 

Shade-loving plants such as Boston ferns, heuchera and violets are perfect for those darker corners that don’t get a lot of sun. For sunnier spots next to a brick wall, consider planting succulents such as crassula, kalanchoe, echeveria and string of pearls. These plants are the ultimate in low maintenance and don’t need a lot of watering. 

If you’d like to try edible gardening, vertical planters are ideal for herbs such as parsley, oregano, thyme and chives, as well as salad vegetables such as lettuce, spring onions and radishes. Strawberries also do well in vertical planters as long as they get plenty of sun and water. Bunnings has a good range of planters and grids so you can put together a vertical ‘green wall’ that fits your space perfectly. 

Scented plants

There’s nothing quite like the sweet aroma of scented plants on a balmy summer’s evening. Aromatic plants that are suitable for growing in large containers include lavender and rosemary. For walls, consider growing jasmine along a trellis, and for a statement tree in a large pot it’s hard to go past a beautiful frangipani - these like around six hours of sun a day to flower well, so may not work for full shade. 

Grouped containers

A simple yet effective trick to make a courtyard garden look ‘pulled together’ is to place three or five containers in a harmonious group - and it makes watering easier. Choose plants that create a pleasing contrast - a couple of tall grasses at the back with some smaller flowering plants at the front, for example. 

A tiered plant stand will also allow you to use your vertical space to add more greenery and works well with herbs and smaller edibles such as cherry tomatoes and basil. 

Choose the right furniture

There’s no shortage of outdoor furniture to choose from, so it’s important to think about how you will actually use the space so that you don’t get overwhelmed. Will it be a dining area, or somewhere to stretch out and read a book? Spend some time online working out what you want before heading to showrooms with your shortlist to test them out for comfort. Freedom Furniture reliably offers stunning outdoor furniture including modular sofas, loungers, coffee tables and dining sets for outdoor meals. 

We also love the Hamptons-inspired loungers from Business and Pleasure Co.  If you’d like some extra shade, check out the outdoor umbrellas from Remarkable Outdoor Living in Pymble.

Finally, to keep away the mosquitoes and stay cool, you could consider investing in an outdoor fan. And some easy-to-install festoon lighting will allow you to enjoy your courtyard well into the night.

Are you thinking of selling your home?

We are always happy to chat about preparing your home for sale to get the best possible result (it’s always worth asking for advice here so you don’t waste time or money on unnecessary work) or just a general chat about recent sales and what the market is doing. 

Please feel free to reach out to Page&Co today if you’re planning to sell or are looking for a new place to call home.