This project presented a very unique opportunity to deliver something very special, of very high quality. The clients were planning to move into a large, refurbished property, that had both a courtyard garden as well as large rear garden. The courtyard garden was their first priority, as all of the living areas looked out on to it and the family would essentially spend most of their outdoor time in that space. The initial challenge was that the master bedroom was on the ground floor and that the main living area was half a meter higher. I began by dividing the garden into sections and on a variety of levels creating increased interest and actually making the courtyard feel larger. The living area was met by a T-shaped raised hardwood deck, with steps descending one way to a more intimate area outside the bedroom and the other way to a larger, open lawn area.

These areas were all divided and held by raised, machine rendered planters, creating built-in benches that would enable the clients to sit and follow the sun around the courtyard, at different times during the day. The courtyard was finished with a variety of architectural and low maintenance planting, providing colour, interest, and life, with a Japanese cloud tree within a central viewing position from both the bedroom and the living area. The use of subtle lighting brought the courtyard to life at night, transforming it yet again