A Courtyard Garden by the Sea

Big drama in a small space

Steve in the UK is share a very coolheaded , very small garden blank with us today .

My married woman , Emily , and I followed our aspiration of move to the seaboard from Surrey nine year ago . We were seem for a menstruation house , and much as we did n’t need to take a project on , we fell in love with a 1800 ’s Victorian house in a quiet crescent , a short base on balls from the beach . We are keen gardeners , and whilst we were locomote to a star sign with a paved court , rather than the lawn / bed we were used to , we could see great potential in it . When we moved , we potted up plants from our Surrey garden , tookcuttings , dual-lane bush , etc . The larger pots we moved to the courtyard ; others we gave to kinsperson and Friend to foster until we got nail down . We also made economic consumption of the front garden as a “ nursery ” to agree plants temporarily .

For the first twosome of long time we tackled the chaos in the house : stripped out , repaired , restored , poultice , and paint . In the summer we got on with make clean the courtyard , a bit of house painting , and looking after the pots . Furniture was a yoke of deck of cards chair and a little table .

In the third twelvemonth , we protrude work on the court in devout . The flat coat was slabbed rampart to wall , and whilst we deal thatraised bedsandpotswere our only pick , one weekend I decided to lift some slab on one side to see what was below .

We encountered a thick layer of hardcore underneath a concrete skin , and with use of a sledgehammer and brute force play we bring off to break through , hit shingle , brick , sand , and rubble to about 2 feet . Underneath was the soil we were looking for . It accept two very long weekend to break through and delve down to three side . We pulled out bags and bags of rubble , and once clear , we backfilled with a mix ofsoilandcompost .

We had always had a love of exotic flora and Mediterranean - style gardens . I have grown a variety of banana and palm over the years . We have been lucky to pass clock time in Italy and Greece and loved the court - style seen in both countries , particularly Venice . Our time at the theatre enabled us to know our own court , sunlight place , and how we wanted it to be planted . The garden is north - lining , but it generate full east - west sun from May to other October . We were fortunate that the balmy coastal clime was perfect for the garden we want .

The pictures give you the “ before and after ” of the garden , yet is very much an on-going summons . Digging down and putting three beds in was the best thing we did , as it has enabled us to found “ vertically ” with all way of climber and taller shrub allowed to take source . We have palms , climbing roses , several clematis , rambling fuchsia ( astonishing ) , passion flower , succulents , varieties of lilies , dahlias , trailing plants , and wanderer plants that pull round the winters — geranium that are very sturdy too . The banana are stupefying , and we have had fruit the past three age . However , we have also retained a number of specimen in planters and large pots .

The cardinal thing has been for us to make the garden aslow - maintenanceanddrought - resistantas possible . It is at its peak fromJuneto earlyOctober . In July it is at its best : bananas are full height , the heyday and rosebush smell amazing , and the courtyard is full of bee andbutterflies .

We have add a living rampart for succulents and put in an old Samuel Butler cesspit and other large atomic number 30 troughs forherbsand salads . In the last two yr we have added a pipeline , with us run overhead wires last year to make the canopy we need over the space . This will also set aside the mania prime to grow up and over , and a newly planted jasmine too .

Last twelvemonth we installed two sets of inflammation — uplighters and overhead festoons . The uplighters make the garden look magical at night . The walls are ornament with mirrors to open up up the space and other item we have collected from flea grocery store . We particularly love the martini sign we found . ( Friends call the garden the “ Martini Bar . ” )

The garden is always evolving with fresh idea andnew plants , and each twelvemonth it becomes more and more established . We are very pleased with the effect . We get lots of compliment from people who add up and inflict the garden ; some passersby have asked to see it as they have noticed the bananas from the route . We design in another yr to spread out the garden as part of the town “ Open Gardens ” scheme to kick upstairs money for local charities . We are always give away plants to friends ; it would be nice to raise some money from a few for charities .

The garden has become an extension of the family and is the pure place for us to sit around back and relax . Our two boys love sit down out there too . The dogs like to relish in the Sunday , and we love to barbecue , entertain , eat out there , relish a sundowner , play music , and light a fire . With the light the garden can be enjoyed ’ til the small hours .

The “ before ” picture — not much more than a place to sit .

And now the place is overflow with lush plantings !

Steve register off a banana heyday , with developing yield !

Passionflower ( Passiflorasp . ) blooms in the garden .

Steve poses with a banana leafage , read how immense they get .

Garden lighting translate the space and makes it a great place to relax any time of day or night .

A perfect place to socialise and slacken

The Brobdingnagian bananas really enthral you away from the UK to a more tropical clime .

Dogs lie with the space as much as humanity .

large banana plant surrounded by potted plants in a courtyard

succulent teemingness is the order of the day .

planter mount to the wall add more aliveness to every inch .

If you to see more from this beautiful distance , check out their Instagram:@our_exotic_garden_by_the_sea

courtyard before transformation with small plants in pots

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courtyard after transformation with lots of tropical plants

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