Cheryl Corson Design, LLC

A City Courtyard

The owner of an early 20th century brick home near a vibrant urban center needed some peaceful outdoor space despite quite limited availability - less than 350 square feet! The rear courtyard is the entry to the house from the alley parking space and is the main view from the kitchen and dining room doorways. The client exhibited great optimism by calling a designer to consider this daunting space.

The "L" shape of the space and a small grade change down from each doorway offered clues for how to make the space feel larger than it was. The new design created different views of the garden from each doorway while employing a limited palette of materials and colors to unite the space. One precious foot in width was gained on one neighbor's side by replacing a double wooden fence with a free standing, six foot tall brick wall that runs the length of the property line to the alley.

The garden features a diagonal deck off the dining room made of recycled plastic and lumber, a raised brick planter, and a custom built storage shed only 18" deep but eight generous feet long. A new fence and gate of western red cedar were installed, and a trellis with a five inch horizontal grid above the brick wall was added.

The rear of the house was painted a restful sage green. Large rectangular flagstone paving and polished black river stones, plus the gray deck enlarge the feeling of space by employing "cool" receding colors. The red shed is a playful exception. An irregular "island" bed off the corner of the house visually links the two main spaces and sits opposite an in-ground evergreen planting of nandina. Two sets of oversized flagstones serve as entry "foyers" to the space - one set inside the garden gate, and the other as steps to the kitchen door. The smooth edge of the deck and the planter wall provide extra seating when needed. The raised planter contains a pink crepe myrtle, variegated daphne, amsonia, sedum, and purple day lilies. Spring bulbs extend the blooming season. The new garden may be small, but its impact on the client's enjoyment of this living space has been enormous.

Installation: Level Green Landscape, LLC