A Mediterranean Courtyard Garden

This garden is part of a larger area around a new house in Swanton Morley. Strong winds from the neighbouring fields and visits by deer were a problem so the clients had decided to create a walled garden and had already built a section of brick-and-flint wall. The brief was to complete the wall and create a garden with Mediterranean-style planting to remind the clients of holidays in Mallorca. Top of the wish list was a very gnarled, mature, olive tree. Other requirements included a tiled loggia, a pergola and a lily pond.

The design uses a central border to break up the garden, with the olive tree taking centre stage.

 

A generous path around the border allows a journey around the garden.

[insert ‘pergola.jpg’]

Seating areas are created under an oak pergola, in the loggia and on an oak bench built in to the wall opposite the lily pond.

[insert ‘loggia.jpg’]

The rim of the pond and the edges of the raised beds double as additional seating. For larger gatherings, the path is wide enough for extra chairs to be placed anywhere to supplement the official seating areas.

[insert ‘lily pond.jpg’]

Lighting in the loggia and uplighting directed at the olive tree ensure the garden is used and enjoyed as much at night as during the day.

Plant list:

Trees:
Olea europea
Chamearops humilis
Cordyline australis
Juniperus communis ‘Hibernica’

Shrubs:
Abelia x grandiflora ‘Edward Goucher’
Cistus x purpureus
Lavandula angustifolia ‘Imperial Gem’
Pittosporum tobira ‘Nanum’
Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Miss Jessopp’s Upright’
Rosmarinus officinalis Prostratus Group
Santolina rosmarinifolia subsp. rosmarinifolia 'Primrose Gem'
Yucca filamentosa ‘Gold Edge’

Climbers:
Wisteria floribunda

Ferns:
Dryopteris affinis ‘Cristata’
Perennials & sub-shrubs:
Agapanthus ‘White Superior’
Ajuga reptans ‘Catlin’s Giant’
Astelia chathamica
Erigeron karvinskianos
Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii
Iris ‘Jane Phillips’
Iris 'In Town'
Kniphofia ‘Little Maid’
Liriope muscari
Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’
Phlomis russeliana
Phormium cookianum ‘Black Adder’
Salvia x sylvestris ‘Mainacht’
Sisyrinchium striatum ‘Aunt May’
Verbena bonariensis
Vinca minor ‘Atropurpurea’

Water plants:
Iris laevigata ‘Variegata’
Myosotis scorpioides ‘Semperflorens’
Myriophyllum verticillatum
Houttuynia cordata ‘Chameleon’
Nymphaea ‘Pygmaea Helvola’
Nymphaea ‘Pygmaea Rubra’
Nymphaea tetragona (pygmaea ‘Alba’)

Bulbs:
Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’
Crocus tommasinianus
Galanthus nivalis
Iris reticulata
Tulipa sprengeri
Tulipa ‘White Triumphator’