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Before & After: Little Courtyard, Big Style
You don't need a lot of space to surround yourself with a wonderful garden.

How do you own a garden that doesn't own you? If you ask Charlie and Patricia Peay, they'll tell you it's simple--just downsize. Two years ago, they grew tired of maintaining a big garden and house and decided to move into a smaller home with a more manageable landscape. This change took a little getting used to, but the Peays love not having to devote hours to watering and pulling weeds. Now, they spend less time working and more time enjoying their new yard.

The recently constructed house was built with the yard in mind, so much of the garden was designed from the inside looking out. Getting the landscape right was critical in order to make the home's interiors work. So the Peays hired Landscape Services, Inc., of Birmingham to come up with a plan and to implement the design. Many of the plants used were dug up from their old yard and relocated to the new garden.

Rapid Rewards

'Plum Passion' nandina has tiny white blooms and narrow-leaved foliage that help to soften the brick wall.

In only two years, the 40- x 20-foot walled courtyard on the side of the new house became a focal point. The garden draws you outdoors to enjoy the many flowers and the tapestry of foliage. French doors open from the dining room onto a cozy brick terrace, which becomes an extension of the home. A bench and a couple of chairs make the patio a nice cozy sitting area. When they entertain, the courtyard acts as an overflow area, so guests can mingle outdoors without feeling cramped.

Plants Between the Cracks

After a stone path was laid to divide the courtyard, a Kousa dogwood was added for shade.

Step off the redbrick terrace onto a flagstone surface filled with fresh thyme and other nifty little plants. The flagstones create a naturally flowing walkway to the side gate. In compact gardens, you need to use every square inch, so even the small amount of soil between stones is planted. Creeping thyme (Thymus sp.), 'Nana' dwarf mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus 'Nana'), mazus (Mazus reptans), 'Ogon' Japanese sweet flag (Acorus gramineus 'Ogon'), and small flowering annuals are placed in planting pockets for interest. Violas bloom from September through May; then Texas sage replaces them to provide summer color.

Colorful Shrubs
Five 'Nikko Blue' French hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Nikko Blue') create a loose hedge, which is covered in big, blue mophead blooms in late spring and early summer. A flowering quince (Chaenomeles sp.) also graces the courtyard. Its scarlet blooms in late winter and early spring bring the bare wall to life.

In a narrow space between two windows, four 'Plum Passion' nandinas (Nandina domestica 'Monum') were planted. They have purplish red foliage in spring, fall, and winter; summer heat brings deep green leaves. Nandinas have an upright growth habit that works well in tight spaces.

Trees for Shade

A 'Forest Pansy' Eastern redbud with scarlet-purple, heart-shaped foliage is already beginning to shade the brick terrace.

The courtyard lacked shade, so a 'Forest Pansy' Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy') and a Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) were added. They will grow tall enough (about 20 feet) to help screen sunlight but won't get too big and consume the garden. The redbud has pinkish purple flowers that appear in early spring. The Kousa dogwood has creamy white, pointed blooms in late spring, a few weeks after the native dogwoods flower.

Pots for Impact
The Peays set out three containers in the garden to add height and color and help elevate the plants to eye level. They brought a large pot filled with black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) from their old house and set it out in the courtyard. The 10-foot-tall black shoots, tipped with green leaves, create nice vertical lines and soften the wall.

left: This tree-form lantana's golden flowers attract butterflies.; above: A metal hook hangs over the gate and secures a planter filled with chartreuse coleus, trailing lantana, and 'Blackie' sweet potato vine.

They set a pot containing a topiary lantana next to the brick steps. The yellow blooms add lots of color and signal a grade change. A planter basket filled with colorful foliage and flowers hangs on the khaki-colored gate.

Though the outdoor room is still fairly new, the plants are beginning to mesh together for an established look. This small courtyard proves that gardens certainly don't have to be big to be grand.

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