A Courtyard Garden Perfect for Entertaining

At this Toronto address, you don't have to head into the backyard to look for the garden–it begins at the front of the property with four clusters of round Globe Yew (Taxus x media 'Brownii') each framed with a rectangle of clipped Boxwood. Brick pathways lead to a large metal urn at the centre of this formal space. In the middle of two opposing quadrants, hydrangea paniculata standards add verticality to the geometric design and the promise of late summer interest. In the early spring, the only color in this spare planting is purple alliums that pop up in amongst the green yews.

When homeowners dare to dispense with the standard-issue green lawn in city neighbourhoods, adjacent neighbours will sometimes grumble unhappily about the negative impact that such non-conformity can have on property values (only recently I shared an example of this on Facebook). A formal garden may not be everyone's cup-of-tea, but it is hard to imagine that any neighbours could claim that this spare and carefully controlled garden is any less neat and orderly than a mown lawn. With its symmetrical layout and predominately green color palette, this formal garden easily fits within the norms of the suburban landscape. Ironically it manages to be innovative while at the same time completely traditional. 

There is no lawn in the backyard either. Who would want to manoeuver a lawn mower around such a small yard? 

Instead, there is a generous flagstone courtyard with lots of cushioned seating.  Right behind the coffee table and chairs, there is a large table that seats eight comfortably.

This is a garden that made for entertaining. You won't find rusty garden tools and watering cans in the "shed". Instead, you'll find a bar and an indoor space that can be used for meals should the weather dictate.

The shed itself is a thing of beauty with its black exterior, peaked roof and arched glass windows. 

To the left of the garden house, and in the shade of a Japanese Maple, there is a small pond and waterfall. 

This garden is not without a few playful elements. A moss-covered topiary puppy pokes his way through the plantings to steal a drink of water.

The flowerbeds that run either side of the length of the property are packed with an assortment of perennials, shrubs and evergreens. In this section of the garden, an armillary sundial creates a focal point.

The hardy kiwi vine, growing on the fence, is an unusual choice. Actinidia kolomikta 'Arctic Beauty' has heart-shaped leaves with cream and pink tips (see in detail below).

Actinidia kolomikta 'Arctic Beauty' is a hardy kiwi vine with fragrant, greenish-white flowers that mature into edible berries (when both a male and female plants are present. Only a female vine will produce fruit. Male vines have the best variegation.). The foliage is green when it opens in the spring and then develops white slashes tipped with pink. Be warned that this is a fast-growing, vigorous vine that can easily swamp other trees and shrubs. A heavy hand may be required to keep it in check. This vine is not considered to be invasive. Actinidia kolomikta is best grown on a sturdy support like a trellis or fence. Prune when dormant in winter and again in spring and summer. When growing fruit, plant in full sun. This vine is somewhat shade tolerant and can also be grown in part-shade. Height: 10-20 ft, Spread: 6-10 ft USDA zones: 3-8.

Perennials include Solomon's Seal, Hosta, Heuchera, Tree Peonies and daylilies.

Heuchera foliage is as colorful as flowers might be. 

As well as the tiny pond, there is a wall fountain hanging on the fence. I'll also take this opportunity to point out that the fence has been painted black. This dark backdrop really makes the green foliage pop.

 
Even the birdfeeder has an elegant peaked roof.

Annuals scattered throughout the flowerbeds and gathered in pots are an ongoing source of color.

Tropical Dipladenia with its pink trumpet-shaped blooms. 

Note the use of symmetry in everything from the wall sconces to the 
tall containers and pots of pansies.

One of the things I really admire about this garden is the way it works to suit the purpose of entertaining. Additionally, maintenance demands would not be excessive and despite the proximity of other houses, the space feels private. 

It's not hard to imagine how pleasant it would be sipping a cold drink in good company while listening to the relaxing sounds of the little waterfall.

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Book Giveaway: The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing your Small Yard

“Urban and suburban aren’t so different anymore," writes author Susan Morrison in her new book The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing your Small Garden. And it’s so true! Suburban houses are about the same size, but the lots that they sit on seem to be getting more and more modest in size. A "small" urban garden no longer refers to the outdoor spaces offered in townhouses, condos, and apartments. Tiny backyards are the new normal even in the suburbs.

Susan is a landscape designer with a long, successful career, so it's no surprise that the focus of her book is garden design. It is is a practical, “less is more” approach to gardening that links the design of a garden to the lifestyles of the people who will be using and enjoying it.

This book is aimed primarily at young professionals juggling careers, kids and busy lives. The goal is to get the most out of an outdoor space with the least amount of effort.

From the book, The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing your Small Yard by Susan Morrison published by Timber Press in 2018. Excerpted with the permission of the publisher.

When it comes to gardens, bigger isn't always better at any rate. A small garden requires fewer plants and less time to design, install and maintain.

Susan's new book aims to help homeowners make the best use of every square foot of space. When she tallies up her less is more approach to design, there are actually a lot of pluses:

• Less space, more enjoyment
• Less effort, more beauty
• Less maintenance, more relaxation
• Fewer gardening-by-the-numbers, more YOU.

From the book, The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing your Small Yard by Susan Morrison published by Timber Press in 2018. Excerpted with the permission of the publisher.

I found another review that broke the book down into chapters really helpful, so I thought that I’d take a similar approach:

Chapter 1 poses the questions that will help you match the design of your landscape to your lifestyle: What time of the day and in what seasons are you likely to use the garden? Who will be using the garden? Chapter one also guides you through the process of making allowances in the design for children, guests and even the family pet.

Chapter 2 tackles a variety of possible design approaches.

Chapter 3 helps homeowners use a small space to its best advantage. Growing vertical, creating an illusion of space and the debate of lawn/no lawn are some of the issues covered.

Chapter 4 addresses sensory elements. Topics covered include attracting wildlife to the garden, including scent, adding color and the relaxing sound of water to the garden.

Chapter 5 looks briefly at a variety of different hardscaping options.

Chapter 6 touches on plants that will make a garden attractive and yet keep it low maintenance: plants with four seasons of interest, dwarf shrubs, long-blooming plants and easy perennials.

Chapter 7 helps you add in personal touches that give a garden style.

From the book, The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing your Small Yard by Susan Morrison published by Timber Press in 2018. Excerpted with the permission of the publisher.

This book represents a modern, realistic approach to gardening where the lifestyle and design intersect to create outdoor spaces that are suited to a family’s needs. In short: gardens that don’t involve a ton of traditional gardening.

I closed the book wondering if this is the way of the future?

My own garden is old-school cottage garden. It’s pretty, but it’s high maintenance. As I set the book down, I began to feel a bit like a dinosaur...but then I paused to reconsider.

The thing I am most passionate about as a gardener is Nature and the outdoors, not the labour. Every family deserves a private haven where they can enjoy being outdoors. If Susan Morrison's less is more approach means that more people are doing just that, then we are actually on the same page. After all, reconnecting with nature is where a passion for gardening is often born.

The Less is More Garden is filled with the wisdom honed from Susan's experience as a designer, lots of practical advice and stylish examples of her less is more approach. There may come a time in the not so distant future when my creaking back and rickety knees see me trading in my high maintenance plot for a garden that is much smaller, but hopefully just as beautiful.

Thanks to Timber Press for providing a copy of The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Designing your Small Garden for me to give away. Because this book will go to a winner through the mail, we will have to limit entry to readers in Canada and the USA. 

Please leave a comment below, if you would like to be included in the book draw. The draw will remain open until Saturday, March 31st. If you are not a blogger, you can enter by leaving a comment on the Three Dogs in a Garden Facebook page (there is an additional link to the Facebook page at the bottom of the blog). You are also welcome to enter by sending me an email (jenc_art@hotmail.com).

About the Author:

Susan Morrison is a nationally recognized landscape designer and authority on small-space garden design. She has shared her strategies on the PBS series Growing a Greener World and in publications such as Fine Gardening. Morrison has also served as editor-in-chief of The Designer, a digital magazine produced by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers.

A Stylish City Garden

This is another one of my favourites from last summer. I think what makes this garden stand out in my mind is the design and the plantings.  

At the front of the house, there is a very large Norway Maple whose canopy casts the garden in shade. 

There is no bare earth here waiting for the arrival of weeds.

Instead, a mix of groundcovers, which includes miniature euonymus (see note below) and periwinkle, fills in the spaces between the hosta. You'll see this layered approach to planting elsewhere in the garden.

While I have heard Miniature Euonymus or Miniature Wintercreeper, Euonymus fortunei 'Kewensis' recommended as a groundcover that can take foot traffic, I caution you to consider its use very carefully. It is a plant that has made it's way on to lists of invasive species. In some parts of the States,  this aggressive perennial has spread to native plant areas and is crowding the natives out.

By the front door, there is a large square planter that is a nice change of pace
from the urns one usually sees.

More hostas, with a backdrop of feathery yew, line the pathway to the backyard.

There are just a few hosta cultivars that are repeated down the length of the path and that unity really helps the pathway feel like a quiet introduction to the rest of the garden.

Again, there is no bare ground. Between the stone pavers, Creeping Jenny, Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' has been given free reign. 

I always feel sorry for gardeners who unwittingly plant an aggressive groundcover like Creeping Jenny only to discover that this plant has a secret masterplan hellbent on world domination. By the time they discover their mistake, getting rid of the problem is a nightmare! 

Here I think the choice of an ambitious spreader was an intentional and informed choice. The garden's designer chose to embrace the madness, so to speak, and let Creeping Jenny do its thing. Will the homeowner regret this rather bold move? Hopefully not.

In many situations, Creeping Jenny might be a really bad option, but I think it works in this context. It's going to do just what it was intended to do; fill in the gaps and choke out any weeds. It's never going to overtake the much larger hosta. Still, I feel obliged to caution you to consider carefully before planting Creeping Jenny. 

At the end of the pathway, I frog sits waiting to greet visitors.

The plants include more Creeping Jenny, some hosta and grass-like Carex (Sedge Grass).

The property is wider than it is deep, but the garden doesn't feel small. Shrubs and evergreens hide the yard's boundaries and make it feel spacious and private.

The large flowering shrub you see to the right of the outdoor eating area is a Beauty Bush. Note the shrub has been pruned to remove the lower branches and allow room for an understory of more hostas.

Beauty Bush, Kolkwitzia is a really pretty shrub. It has a fountain shape with branches that hang in long, sweeping arcs. The flowers are a soft pink that fades in the sun. Plant a Beauty Bush in full sun in average garden soil. This shrub blooms on old wood, so prune in spring after it flowers. Cut old canes to the ground to renew the shrub. Height: 8-10', Spread: 8-10' USDA Zones: 5-9.

More layers. Tucked under the leaves of the upright yellow-green hosta is a much smaller blue-green hosta. The foliage of the small hosta has a stripe of the same yellow-green as the hosta above it. 

To the right of the table and chairs is a small seating area with a gas fire pit (the concrete bowl with grey stones that you see in the centre). The custom-made lime green chairs were crafted by a local artisan.

Beginning with the large Japanese Maple in the centre of the backyard, one of the things I want to point out is the repeated use of plants with burgundy foliage. The red color adds warmth to a color palette that is largely green.

Adjacent to the seating area is the garden's water feature. Water bubbles up from a low flat stone and adds the relaxing sound of splashing water as it flows into a reservoir below.

In early June, a Dogwood tree is covered with white blossoms.

Another example of warm color contrasting with cool is the combination of a Barberry bush, Berberis thunbergii, with a Japanese maple with its fine-cut green leaves.

A striking pairing of a hosta and a deep burgundy Heuchera.

At first glance, these two plants would seem like an unlikely couple. Hostas generally prefer shade and moist conditions. Euphorbia prefers sun and much dryer soil. The only way to make this pairing work is to choose a hosta that can take a bit of sun.

Cushion Spurge, Euphorbia Polychroma: prefers full sun and somewhat dry conditions. Normal or sandy soil is best. Trim Euphorbia Polychroma back in early summer to keep it neat and compact, but be careful to wear garden gloves as the milky-white sap it extrudes can be irritating to the skin. Height: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches), Spread: 45-60 cm (18-23 inches). USDA Zones: 3-9.

As small city gardens go, I think this one was pretty amazing. It was a treat to visit. 

Design and Construction: Aldershot Landscape Contractors

Maintenance: Four Seasons Tree Care

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