Balham North-Facing Courtyard Garden

A dark north-facing courtyard was turned into a bright outdoor dining room, with bike storage and even space for a hammock tucked into the plan. Repairing the cracked walls with a light coloured render bounces the steady north light around the space and giving the planting something pale to stand out against all year round.

Sandstone paving replaces what was there before, running the full width of the garden and stepping up through low brick-edged borders that lift the planting to a more visible level. An oval teak table seats six wicker armchairs at the heart of the space, making the most of a garden that gets used for eating outdoors as much as sitting in it. Espaliered apple trees are trained flat against the walls, adding productive planting without eating into precious floor space, while terracotta pots of chives, thyme and sage keep herbs close to hand for cooking.

Because so little direct sun reaches this courtyard, the planting leans into shade: ferns and variegated hostas do the quiet, textural work at ground level, while climbing roses, star jasmine and a generous mix of dahlias, hydrangeas, cosmos and Japanese anemones bring colour and height against the white backdrop. A neat painted store handles bikes and equipment without cluttering the garden itself, keeping the whole space feeling calm, considered and ready for use whatever the weather.

A view of a dark dingy courtyard in Blaham before being transformed Grey, cracked walls with dead and dying plants created a gloomy space before being redesigned by JaneShanksterGardenDesign.co.uk
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View through open French doors onto a paved courtyard garden with a round teak table and wicker chairs Looking out from the house through open French doors, sandstone paving leads to a round teak table and wicker armchairs, framed by raised brick bo
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Two wicker chairs positioned in front of a lush border of dark dahlias and star jasmine A pair of wicker chairs sit at the edge of a raised brick border filled with dark red dahlias, cosmos and climbing star jasmine, creating an intimate spot to sit
A wicker armchair beside a terracotta pot of chives and an espaliered apple tree trained against a wall A wicker armchair sits beside a large terracotta pot and a bowl of flowering chives, with an espaliered apple tree trained flat against the white
Close-up of a climbing white rose with ferns and astrantia in a shaded courtyard border Delicate white rose blooms open above a froth of ferns and astrantia, part of the shade-tolerant planting palette used to soften the walls of this north-facing c
Two wicker chairs on brick steps beside a stone bowl of flowering chives and a large terracotta pot Wicker chairs sit on brick-edged steps beside a stone bowl of flowering chives and a large terracotta pot, marking the transition between patio level
A terracotta pot of white hydrangea and a herb pot beside a vintage watering can on a brick wall A terracotta pot of white hydrangea sits beside potted herbs and a vintage galvanised watering can, arranged along the top of a raised brick border in t
Balham courtyard dahlias Arthur Road Landscapes.jpg
Close-up of a white hydrangea in a terracotta pot beside potted herbs on brick steps A generous white hydrangea fills a weathered terracotta pot on the brick steps, with thyme, sage and chives planted in pots close by for easy picking from the kitch
A mixed border of white Japanese anemones, cosmos and dark red dahlias against a white rendered wall White Japanese anemones and cosmos mix with deep red dahlias in this generous border, giving the north-facing Balham courtyard garden colour and mov
A raised brick border topped with terracotta pots, chives and a galvanised watering can A raised brick border is dressed with terracotta pots of hydrangea and chives, a vintage galvanised watering can and dark dahlias, giving this north-facing Balha
An oval teak dining table with six wicker chairs on sandstone paving in a courtyard garden An oval teak table seats six wicker armchairs on honed sandstone paving, positioned to make the most of the Balham courtyard garden for outdoor dining and ent
A corner of the courtyard garden showing a painted storage shed beside a raised border of white anemones and dahlias A neatly painted storage shed is tucked into the corner of the garden beneath a small tree, with a raised brick border of white Japa
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