A courtyard makeover with great garden design ideas | Behind the Garden Gate

Come and explore this beautiful courtyard makeover from a bland and boring garden to a usable and inviting space filled with great garden design ideas. Join Chloe from Bean There Dug That, as you to explore this hidden gem tucked away next to a beautiful parkland. Despite its modest 67 square meter size and tricky sloping terrain, this small courtyard garden is a testament to creatively gardening in Australia with some clever innovations in landscaping.

Nestled in the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne, this garden showcases great garden design techniques that strike a balance between privacy and connectivity with the surrounding parkland. From the lush groundcovers like dichondra, pratia, and native violets softening the edges of the rock to the strategic placement of tall-growing plants for added privacy, every aspect of this garden has been meticulously planned and executed.

The focal point of the garden is a stunning kidney-shaped deck that not only conceals an operational drain but also serves as a functional and inviting outdoor space. Engineered with precision, the slatted fence offers privacy from the road while maintaining a visual connection to the parkland beyond, thanks to its angled design.

Alongside the deck, a beautiful curved rammed earth wall provides seating and adds a touch of natural elegance to the space. Complemented by low-maintenance composite decking and carefully selected plantings, this garden is a harmonious blend of form and function.

As you wander through this small green oasis, you’ll discover citrus trees thriving in the narrowest part of the garden, clever lighting solutions that extend usability into the evening, and even a discreet clothesline that seamlessly integrates into the design.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe for more garden tours, and let me know in the comments which feature of this small garden captivated you the most. See you next time! 🌿🌼

GARDEN DESIGN & LANDSCAPE CONSTRUCTION:
🌱 Garden Design & Plant Selection – https://www.platylobium.com.au/
🌱 Construction, Engineering & Installation – https://atlasconcreteandlandscapes.com/
🌱 Lighting by – Gardens at Night – https://www.gan.com.au/

BEAN THERE DUG THAT:
Your go-to for gardening know-how and access to inspiring Australian gardens – Horticulturist and Garden Coach Chloe Thomson;
Website: https://www.beantheredugthat.com/
Newsletter: https://www.beantheredugthat.com/beansproutbulletin_optin
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beantheredugthat/

Grow your gardening knowledge, learn how to keep your plants alive, and garden in any space with Chloe’s online gardening course: SPROUT SCHOOL!
🌱 Sprout School https://www.beantheredugthat.com/sprout-school

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DO YOU HAVE A GARDEN OR PRODUCT YOU WANT US TO FEATURE?
Contact us here – https://forms.gle/u6Woo6H5sxxpD3Vo8

VIDEO CREDITS:
🌱 Host: Chloe Thomson https://www.instagram.com/beantheredugthat/
🌱 Cinematography: Ger Hynes https://www.hynesitephotography.com

#courtyard #gardening #gardendesign #gardenmakeover #gardeningaustralia #huntingforgeorge

Behind this fence next to this beautiful parkland is a relatively new garden it’s only 67 square metres and it’s on a tricky sloping block with the narrowest point that’s only 1 metre wide. I’m Chloe from Bean there Dug That let’s go behind the garden gate. Stepping out of that parkland we’re leaving it all behind however this garden utilises some clever design techniques so that it feels both private and still connected to the parkland let’s go and have a look. We’re in the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne and this garden slopes down quite dramatically from that entrance gate to a really low point which in the before photos you can see that the focal point of the garden was literally the drain at the bottom of the garden but not anymore it’s all been concealed but still is an operational drain. Between these big stone steppers there are 3 different groundcovers that have been used by the designer Nadia Cole from Platylobium here we have dichondra as the main one this one with a little lovely star-shaped flower is pratia and the lovely one with a little purple flowers is a native violet and together the three of them are really softening the edges of the rock and giving us a lovely green space when we don’t have lawn. Most of the plants in this garden are hardy Aussie natives but there are a few exotics in here as well. Those plants closest to the fence have been chosen because they will grow up taller and even start to hide the fence as they mature and then there’s lots of groundcovers in here as well to soften things off and to give lots of greenery down low. You’ll notice that in this part of the garden the fence behind me looks almost completely flat and that’s because the slats in this section have changed to a 10° angle rather than the 90° angle earlier on in the garden and in this section it’s that seemingly solid fence that gives this privacy from the road over there and makes this feel like a warm and inviting space but at the same time time if I turn this way and look through these slats that are on a 45° angle I can still see down into the greenery and the park beyond it’s really clever and it was a bit of an engineering feat with Nadia and Atlas Concrete and Landscaping combining their skills using 3D imaging and modeling to learn about the different views from inside the house through the fence and into the parkland beyond. Beneath this kidney shaped deck is the drain which once upon a time dominated the garden space this deck means that the drain is still completely functional but it’s hidden beneath this surface which is a lot more inviting and a lot nicer to look at. The slats here are actually able to be lifted up so that drain access is still possible this deck is made of a composite material so it’s got zero maintenance which was something that was really important to the owners there’s no need to sand this back and re oil it every few years. The other feature of this space is this beautiful curved rammed earth wall which serves as a seating space as well originally this was also going to be a timber feature but rammed earth zero maintenance and it needs nothing done to it forever! When the old fence was taken down and before the new fence went up it allowed them machinery access into this space so they were able to bring in the rocks and the big boulders which you might not normally be able to bring into such a small garden space. And these pebbles beneath our feet also give just a nice change of surface and texture. This is the narrowest part of the garden it’s only a metre wide back here but they’ve made great use of the space this space is full west so down here they’ve been able to plant three citrus trees which are looking really healthy and happy the owner specifically asked for this Crepe Myrtle to be planted here this is going to provide protection up on the deck from the western afternoon sun as this grows up but of course then in the winter months when it’s lost its leaves it’ll allow the sun into that space really clever. These low growing Banksias are one of my favourites they’re really architectural when they’re not in flower but when they are in flower they’re yellowy orange quite tall flowers at a really striking pop of colour and the creeper that’s being encouraged to grow across the back fence here is going to add just that little bit more privacy from the laneway beyond. [Music] [Music] Lighting in this garden is really important even though we are in the inner suburbs because of this parkland at dusk and beyond this area is very dark so lighting the paths and lighting the features of the garden like around the rammed earth wall are really important so that it’s usable year round and at any time of the day or night. There’s also a really clever thing that they’ve done here and they have pointed some lights out of the garden into the parkland beyond and what they do is they light up the trees immediately next to us so at night time they give us the sense that the garden continues beyond the fence line and it’s a bit nicer than looking at a great big black void at night. You might notice that with the vertical slats of the fences beneath them there are some horizontal pieces as well and these serve two purposes – number one it’s to keep the vigorous parkland grass from making its way into the garden and the second purpose of these horizontals is to help contain the cat – the combination of the verticals which are not very climbable at all and this horizontal piece at the base of the fence means that this is a very cat friendly garden and the cat can explore safely. I barely even noticed this clever clothesline because it conceals so well – this folds out when needed and folds away when it’s not needed so this can be another courtyard space and it’s got a barbecue up here as well. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour around this small garden from a very bland and boring canvas this is now a space that you want to be in and you want to enjoy make sure you like and subscribe because I’ve got plenty more garden tours coming your way see you next time.