Start with the Light and the Walls

Before you buy a single pot, spend a few days watching how light moves across your courtyard. A space enclosed by brick or rendered walls can be surprisingly bright, but it can also be a wind tunnel or a frost pocket. Note which corners catch the morning sun and which stay shaded until mid-afternoon.

Measure the width of your paths and leave at least 60cm of clear walking space. In a courtyard, the temptation is to fill every corner, but a little breathing room makes the whole space feel larger. Walls absorb heat during the day and release it at night, creating a sheltered microclimate that can let you grow slightly tender plants such as olives or citrus in a sunny corner.

Tall Pots Do the Heavy Lifting

Height is the quickest way to make a small courtyard feel generous. A tall, narrow pot draws the eye upward, screens a neighbouring window and gives climbers somewhere to begin. Choose containers at least 45cm across and 50cm deep; anything smaller will dry out too quickly and restrict root growth.

• Go for frost-proof terracotta or cedar. Cedar is naturally resistant to rot and weathers to a soft silver-grey, making it ideal for planters, obelisks and trellis panels. Line the inside with a permeable membrane to keep compost in and moisture balanced.
• Raise pots on feet. This improves drainage, prevents staining on paving and allows air to circulate beneath the base.
• Group in odd numbers. Three pots of different heights, with the tallest at the back, create a natural rhythm without blocking the view.
• Use a loam-based compost such as John Innes No. 3 for permanent shrubs, mixed with a little peat-free multi-purpose and slow-release feed.

Good tall subjects include bay, olive, Choisya ternata, Photinia 'Red Robin', a compact Japanese maple and phormium. Repeat one or two of these around the space to tie the design together.

Climbers for Privacy and a Green Backdrop

Climbers are the secret weapon of an overlooked courtyard. They soften hard walls and provide privacy without eating into valuable floor space. For year-round screening, choose evergreens such as Trachelospermum jasminoides, whose glossy leaves turn bronze in winter, or Clematis armandii, which offers early spring flowers and dense coverage.

Fix a cedar trellis or a set of tension wires about 5cm away from the wall so air can circulate behind the foliage. Plant climbers in pots of at least 40cm diameter, and keep the roots shaded with a mulch of gravel or broken slate. Train the stems horizontally as well as vertically; this encourages flowering sideshoots and creates a fuller screen.

Evergreen Structure Through the Seasons

When the flowers fade, evergreens carry the design. In a small courtyard you need only a few strong shapes to make the space feel intentional. Use clipped box or Ilex crenata for crisp balls and cones, Taxus baccata for a darker, more architectural presence, and Sarcococca confusa for glossy leaves and winter fragrance. Ferns and hardy hellebores will tolerate shade and add a softer, woodland feel.

Repeat the same plant in two or three pots rather than collecting a different specimen for every corner. This repetition creates calm and makes the courtyard look bigger, not busier. A pair of matching bay trees flanking a doorway is far more effective than a random assortment of shrubs.

Layering for Year-Round Interest

Once the structure is in place, you can ring the changes with seasonal planting. In spring, underplant tall pots with narcissi, snowdrops and crocus, which will flower before the shrubs leaf out. Summer is the moment for pelargoniums, salvias, verbena and trailing lobelia, either in their own pots or tucked around the feet of larger specimens. In autumn, cyclamen, heucheras and ornamental grasses extend the display well into November.

Don't forget scent. A pot of lavender by a bench, or a climbing rose trained through an obelisk, will perfume the whole courtyard on a warm evening. Choose compact varieties suited to containers, and deadhead regularly to keep the flowers coming.

Watering, Feeding and Keeping Things Tidy

Containers dry out far faster than borders, especially in a sheltered courtyard where rain may not reach the compost. Water thoroughly when the top few centimetres feel dry, and consider a simple drip irrigation system on a timer for busy weeks. Feed permanent plants with a slow-release fertiliser in spring, then top up with a liquid feed every fortnight during the growing season.

Mulch the surface of each pot with gravel or bark to reduce evaporation and suppress weeds. Every two to three years, repot shrubs into fresh compost, teasing out the roots and trimming any that circle the pot. In winter, wrap terracotta pots in bubble wrap or hessian if hard frosts are forecast, and raise them onto feet to prevent waterlogging. With a little routine care, a courtyard of pots will reward you with privacy, scent and colour from January to December.