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How to update this courtyard on a budget?

Looking for creative ideas to give our courtyard a makeover on a budget. Not looking to do any structural work - just want to transform it with plants, gardening, and simple styling.
We get full afternoon sun and partial shade on the wall with creeping fig.
What we are after:
Low-maintenance options preferred (busy work/family schedule)
Budget-friendly
One section of the garden bed gets a lot of overflow water on rainy days (not sure why the draining was designed/built like this!) so it is hard to find plants that can survive wet and dry extremes.
Questions:
1. Best plants for pots vs. ground planting in our situation?
2. Any styling tricks to make the space feel bigger/more inviting?
Appreciate any suggestions, photos of your own transformations, or lessons learned!

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Comments

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @fizzy. It's marvellous to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about your courtyard.

You’ve actually got a really solid base to work with here, which is great because it means you can get a noticeable transformation without touching anything structural. The light coloured decking and retaining wall already keep the space feeling bright, so the biggest gains will come from softening the hard edges and adding height, texture and contrast with plants and a bit of styling.

Given the full afternoon sun, pots will give you the most flexibility and control, especially with your busy schedule. Large pots along the fence line or corners will help draw the eye up and make the space feel more enclosed and inviting. In pots, tough sun-loving plants like dwarf citrus, olive, bay tree, cordyline, dracaena, lomandra or even a feature grass like pennisetum tend to cope well and look good year-round. Using fewer but larger pots usually looks more intentional and is lower maintenance than lots of small ones. Self-watering pots or adding a simple drip system can make a big difference too.

For the garden bed, especially the section that alternates between wet and dry, it’s best to lean into plants that tolerate poor drainage and then bounce back in heat. Lomandra, liriope, dianella and lomandra-type grasses are very forgiving and will help stabilise that soil. If you want something a bit softer, native violet, mondo grass or even gardenia radicans can work if drainage is reasonable most of the time. A thick layer of mulch will help even out moisture swings and reduce maintenance. You could also subtly shape the planting so the wettest area is planted more densely, which helps disguise any patchiness when conditions aren’t ideal.

Styling-wise, the quickest way to make the courtyard feel bigger and more inviting is to define zones. You already have seating, so anchoring that with an outdoor rug will instantly soften the space and make it feel like a room rather than a pass-through. A small round table instead of sharp angles often works better in compact courtyards. Adding one or two vertical elements, like a slim trellis with climbers on the fence or a tall pot with a statement plant, will pull the eye upward and balance the height of the retaining wall behind.

Lighting is another budget-friendly upgrade that pays off. Warm solar uplights aimed at the creeping fig or along the retaining wall can completely change the feel in the evenings without wiring or expense. Even simple festoon lights along the fence line can make it feel cosy and intentional.

If you keep the palette fairly restrained, maybe two or three pot colours and a consistent plant style, the space will feel calmer and larger. You’ve got good bones here, so with some greenery at different heights and a few soft touches, it’ll feel like a proper outdoor living area rather than just a courtyard.

Here's an AI-generated image to get the ball rolling.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

fizzy

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/61001#Comment_61001

Thanks Mitchell! What are you thoughts on 200mm box hedges along the garden bed?

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/92969#Comment_92969

Using 200mm box hedges along the garden bed could work nicely @fizzy, but at that size they’ll be quite small and might take a while to grow into a defined shape. They’d give a neat, formal edge, which can look very tidy, but keep in mind that with the wet-and-dry section you mentioned, box hedges may struggle a bit if the soil stays waterlogged after rain. If you do go ahead, make sure the soil has reasonable drainage and add some mulch around the bases to help protect the roots and retain moisture without waterlogging.

Mitchell

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