Tiny Edinburgh courtyard garden

A tiny courtyard garden close to the seafront in Edinburgh designed as a secluded plant filled haven.

When we met our clients they were in the process of developing their home with an extension opening into their tiny walled garden.
 
The big challenge was to create intimacy and privacy along with the sense of a journey in such a small and narrow, tapering space which is overlooked by the neighbouring tenement buildings.
 
The design features a dynamic angled path which leads from an open paved area by the patio doors under a series of bespoke wooden pergolas to a private seating area at the top of the garden.

A small step defines the transition from the main patio to the hidden seating area.
 
A specimen Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' screens the lower part of the garden from the upper and is surrounded by a mix of herbaceous perennials and shrubs which provide colour and interest through the year.
 
The private seating area at the top of the garden features a floating bench made from western red cedar. It is underplanted with shade loving Epimedium youngianum 'Niveum' to help it nestle into the wall.