Courtyard Makeover Update!

Do you like updates on projects that you previously read about? I do! So, I thought I would share some updates on our courtyard makeover that I wrote about back in November. Spring has finally arrived in Des Moines, which means that I have been able to get our newly revised courtyard space completely set up for the first time!

This is the first season that I get to fully plant the new planters that my husband and I made for this space. We finished the planters last fall, so I was only able to do some fall annuals, but this spring I have added flowers and mixed in some veggies. Sunlight exposure with these planters is a mixed bag. Some of the planters get partial sun, but one planter is almost all shade and another is almost all sun. This allows me to choose a wide variety of different plants, but I also have to be a little selective and pay attention to the light needs of each plant. I went with a red, pink and white palette mixed with lots of different greens.

This is how our courtyard currently looks from the front of our house.

The area with the brick wall is surrounding a sliding door that leads to our bedroom and this is where we put the seating area Last year, we got a sectional that fit very well into the space, but with the addition of one of the planters, it is a perfect fit. I love being able to walk into the courtyard from our bedroom.

This sectional can be arranged in a lot of different ways. The planter we made is the black piece on the end of the furniture. As you can see, our dog loves to spend time in the courtyard too!

We also left the bottom of the planter hollow so that we can store our furniture covers in there. This planter is the one that gets full sun. I chose to grow cherry tomatoes with some small, white flowers growing under the tomatoes for contrast. I can’t wait until they get big and filled in. Since cherry tomatoes grow more like a bush, they will provide some additional privacy for us as well.

This year, we added some rockers that match the sectional. We paired them with a table that we already had. This additional seating area makes for a great spot to eat lunch, work outside or to relax with a cigar.

The rocking chairs are near an area where we have a cherry tree growing. This is a dwarf cherry tree, so it should not get taller than 9 feet and it grows pie cherries. We named it Chauncey and the fruit is delicious! This tree will also provide some nice shade as it grows.

When we bought our house, all of the soil area was covered with white rock. Last year, we removed the rocks and I planted sedum that will grow and spread over the soil.

This is the before with the white rocks and no tree.

This is the after with the sedum growing.

The punch of green is so nice against all of the cement, metal and brick we have going on. The sedum has come back stronger this year than when it was planted last year, and I can’t wait until the whole area is covered.

Also near the chairs, we have a set of 3 hanging planters. These planters were one of the first things my husband and I purchased when we moved in together. I have used them in many different ways, but I think this spot is the best! It is right outside of our kitchen door, so it works perfectly to fill with herbs that I can use as I’m cooking. I fill them with basil, thyme and oregano.

We made a pair of planters to go on either side of the kitchen door. They get partial sun in the morning, but are shaded for most of the day. I chose to plant them with an annual that does well in the shade and added some bright pink color. I also included some grass spikes and trailing plants.

There is also a single planter in the opposite corner, near the rocking chairs, that is the same size as the two flanking the kitchen door. I chose to fill it with one of my favorite annuals - Tubular Begonias. Because of how this plant grows, it can be a little delicate and is prone to the stems breaking easily if it is handled too much. However, it is easy to grow and the flowers are so beautiful!

The large planter by our front door gets partial sun, but more shade. I chose some green plants with very soft leaves for each end and mixed in another of my favorite partial shade annuals - Fuchsia. I also added some trailing plants to each end that are the same as in the planters by the kitchen door. Even though I have a lot of different plants and flowers, the accents plants and repeating colors help to make the look cohesive.

The final planter is also near our front entrance and is the other large planter. It is under the roof line and is mostly shaded. I chose to grow some lettuces mixed in with some colorful flowers that grow well in shade. Since this space stays cooler, I will be able to grow lettuce in it for longer into the season.

While I was working on planting and getting this space ready, I came up with another small project that I wanted to add. I realized that it would look nice to have something like a divider on top of the half wall that is behind this planter. The half wall creates a small walkway that leads to the door for our garage. I still wanted to be able to see through it, but to have the feeling of a little privacy and to add some more interest to the exterior of our house. I came up with a simple, Mid-Century Modern inspired design that would have fit in with when our home was built. My husband was able to quickly build the divider out of wood and I painted it black.

Below is how the area looked last fall, before we added the screen.

This is the drawing I made for my husband of what I wanted the divider to look like. It is very simple, but the top is angled, which made building it a little more tricky.

He started by creating a frame so that he could be sure to get the angle right, and then filled it in. Here are some progress photos.

This is how the screen looked when it was complete and ready to be painted.

And, here is the final result!

This divider looks like it is original to the house and has always been there. I love it and it is one of my favorite additions to our courtyard!

The last thing we added to our courtyard this season is a small water feature. I knew that I wanted the sound of water in this space, but I had a difficult time finding something we liked. Fountains can get expensive quickly and some can also require a lot of maintenance. I settled for a smaller fountain because it was simple and fits well against the brick wall we have near our cherry tree. This spot is also where we already have electricity. I also chose this fountain because it was not a large investment, and I liked the diamond pattern it has because the same pattern is replicated on our front door. It was designed by Jonathan Adler and I ordered it online.

This is how it looks at night.

Overall, I love having the sound of water in our courtyard. It is very relaxing, but I am disappointed in the quality of this fountain. I would not recommend it. The screen broke immediately when we were setting it up and it arrived with a crack in the side. Also, one of the spouts is crooked and my husband had to rewire the lights. Hopefully, we will get a few seasons out of it and then will probably need to find a replacement.

I hope you enjoyed this update! More changed than I realized. It’s nice to stop and look back on how much we’ve accomplished. We have additional plans to replace the iron fence with a more modern looking, wood fence and to cover up the filigree iron work on the support columns. But, even if there are still more changes to be made, we are very happy with the results. This space is one of the reasons we love our home.

Thanks for following along!