There is something special about gardens that feel deeply connected to their surroundings. For this courtyard garden transformation, the goal was to create an outdoor space that felt relaxed, refined, and entirely at home within its beautiful coastal setting.
Located just moments from the beach, this home already possessed an incredible sense of style and personality. With the clients’ strong interior design background and beautifully curated home interiors, it was important that the landscape felt like a natural extension of the architecture and interior spaces, seamlessly connecting indoors and out.
The existing backyard, while compact in scale, held enormous potential. The vision was to transform it into a flowing native courtyard garden that embraced coastal living while remaining elegant, functional, and timeless.
designing a coastal courtyard for everyday living
At Botany Design Co. we believe thoughtful landscape design is about creating spaces that support how people truly want to live.
For this project, the clients envisioned a garden that could effortlessly transition between relaxed family living and intimate outdoor entertaining. The courtyard was carefully reimagined to include a welcoming alfresco dining space designed for long evenings outdoors under the stars, surrounded by soft planting and gentle coastal breezes.
To strengthen the sense of movement throughout the garden, a meandering paver pathway was introduced, allowing the space to unfold gradually rather than feel rigid or confined. The soft curves help guide circulation naturally while complementing the organic character of the surrounding planting palette.
A new curved pool fence was also incorporated into the design, helping soften the harder architectural elements within the courtyard while creating visual flow and cohesion throughout the outdoor space.
layered greenery and coastal privacy
Privacy was another important consideration for the clients, particularly within the compact courtyard setting.
To achieve this without compromising openness or light, we introduced a custom wire screening trellis layered with climbing Star Jasmine. Over time, this feature will establish into a lush green backdrop, adding softness, fragrance, and valuable vertical greenery to the space.
In smaller gardens, incorporating planting across multiple levels is often key to creating depth, immersion, and a stronger connection to nature.
a native plant palette with coastal resilience
The planting palette for this project focused heavily on hardy native species selected specifically for the site’s coastal conditions.
With exposure to salt air, sandy soils, and intense coastal sun, plant selection was approached with both beauty and resilience in mind. A layered mix of textural native planting was curated to provide softness, movement, and year-round structure while remaining low-maintenance and highly suited to the environment.
Subtle silver foliage accents were woven throughout the garden to beautifully complement the home’s bold black exterior palette, creating a refined contrast that feels both contemporary and timeless.
The result is a garden that feels grounded within the coastal landscape while still elevated and highly considered in its design approach.
great landscape design is not about scale, it is about creating connection.
One of the most rewarding aspects of courtyard garden design is witnessing how even compact outdoor spaces can completely transform the experience of a home.
This project is a reminder that great landscape design is not about scale, it is about creating connection, atmosphere, and a sense of place.
From the flowing pathways and layered greenery to the carefully curated planting palette, every element was designed to feel calm, cohesive, and deeply livable.
The success of a landscape is not just in how it is built, but in how it is planted.
Credit:
Landscape Installation by MJ Landscapes and Maintenance
Photograph Source: realestate.com.au