Courtyard garden revamp — Ashcombe town · 2026

Before: A small town courtyard, almost entirely paving, one dying climber, and no real reason to sit in it. The paved area drained badly and the boundary walls had been painted over so often they'd lost definition.

After: A proper little garden. We re-took the levels, laid a new patio on a proper base, built two raised borders for height and privacy, and planted for scent and year-round interest — climbers back on the walls, evergreen structure, and the practical detail of a spot for the bins that isn't the view.

What we did

• Re-graded the courtyard and fixed the drainage.
• New patio (hand-laid, correct falls) and two raised beds.
• Planting plan built around the shaded-ish courtyard: ferns, grasses, climbers and a small Japanese maple for the corner.
• Installed a simple tap-and-hose point while the paving was up.

The customer's words

"It's made the house. We actually sit out there now — the first summer in years the garden's used. Dan was honest about what would cope with the shade, and it all grew in exactly as he said."

(Demonstration content — this project is fictional.)