Best plants for a courtyard garden – 8 favorites to grow for maximum impact in a small space

I am constantly on the lookout for the best plants for a courtyard garden as I have a small courtyard garden myself. It's a beautifully private outdoor space, with a mix of sun and shade areas, a big display of containers, a couple of small potted trees, some climbers to disguise the boundaries, and plenty of evergreen shrubs for year-round interest.

This combination meant I had a lot of bases to cover to fully utilize the space and turn it into the flowering urban jungle I was looking for. I wanted a mix of big leafy plants, flowers and scent to attract pollinators, and seasonal interest at different times of year so it didn't always look the same.

There have been success stories with plants I've chosen for my courtyard garden ideas, as well as one or two failures, so I'd love to share what has worked for me. I also asked some other experts for their input, and discovered some new suggestions that I'm definitely going to try out. After all, a garden is a constantly evolving thing.

8 of the best plants for a courtyard garden

Courtyard gardens offer the opportunity to showcase your plant collection in a beautiful space. They might be small or overlooked by surrounding buildings and high walls but this can be a benefit as it means they offer a micro-climate where you can expand your planting by including more tropical garden ideas.

'Creating a courtyard garden requires carefully selecting plants suited to the available light, space, and aesthetic preferences,' says landscape designer Alex Betz. 'Consider slow-growing, trailing, and compact plants to maximize the courtyard space's charm and functionality.'

Explore some of these clever small garden ideas that will firmly put the focus on the best plants to turn your courtyard garden into a thriving space that feels like an oasis. Choose compact, easy-care plants like dwarf shrubs, ornamental grasses, and container displays for a thriving city garden you can be proud of.

Alex Betz

Alex Betz is the CEO and founder of Plant by Number, a start-up revolutionizing landscape design by making complex landscaping accessible to anyone with a passion for creating beautiful spaces. As a professional landscaper, Alex recognized the need for a more efficient planting method that makes it possible for anyone to achieve a stunning, professionally designed garden.

1. Best flowering plant to attract pollinators

I'm keen on attracting wildlife into my courtyard garden, especially butterflies and bees. With this in mind, my absolute favorite plant for pollinator-attractive blooms from spring until late fall/first frost is Salvia x. 'Amistad'.

I have a supersized container planted up with this beauty and it's reached a height of around 5 feet tall. The flower spikes are covered in visiting bees and butterflies for literally months. I love watching bees foraging for nectar in the deep purple tubular flowers while I have my morning coffee.

Salvia plants come in various shades, including blue, violet and purple, which are the colors most likely to attract bees, according to scientists. There are many different varieties of salvia to keep the blooms coming from spring until fall, and this extended bloom period provides a regular food source for pollinators.

This easy-care perennial plant thrives in all zones and can also be grown as an annual in zones 8-11. It will be happy in partial shade/partial sun. It's so easy to propagate more plants from cuttings too if you want to find out how to propagate salvia to grow your collection.

Salvia x 'Amistad' is available at Nature Hills

2. Best flowering plant for a shady courtyard

The elegant flowers of Japanese anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’ are a must-have for late summer/early fall in a shady courtyard garden. This cultivar is really happy in part shade, and the elegant white flowers on tall stems are a great choice to lighten up shady corners.

'Japanese anemones are a welcome addition to the late-summer garden,' says horticulturalist Jenny Rose Carey, author of The Ultimate Flower Gardener's Guide. 'Their long stems hold bowl-like blooms above lower-growing good quality foliage. The form of the plant and the flower make a lovely fresh contrast to other plants of the season, and they have a lovely see-through quality.'

Hardy in zones 4-7, this cool classic works well in both pots and flower beds. It looks spectacular against dark foliage plants, helping to brighten a dark corner with luminous white color. Find out how to propagate Japanese anemones too as this is another plant that's really easy to multiply.

Jenny Rose Carey

Jenny Rose Carey is a renowned gardener, educator, historian, and author. She is also the former senior director at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Meadowbrook Farm in Jenkintown. Jenny Rose has been lecturing nationally and internationally for many years. She previously worked at Temple University for over a decade, first as an adjunct professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and then as director of the Ambler Arboretum.

3. Best small and shapely ornamental tree

'Japanese maple trees (Acer palmatum) are both visually appealing and manageable for a courtyard garden,' says Alex Betz. 'With their compact size and stunning foliage, these elegant, slow-growing trees make a perfect center piece for a small space.'

The vibrant colored foliage and beautiful natural shape of maple trees will add strong visual impact to a small urban courtyard. They can be a real showstopper, adding a touch of wow factor to your design.

As well as planting them in the ground they work well in a container. Put plenty of drainage material such as broken terracotta pieces in the base and use a good quality soil-based compost mixed with organic matter. Once you've added your tree dress the surface with gravel to help provide the well-drained environment that maples love.

These trees are the very definition of low maintenance too, as all they need is a part shaded position to thrive. Japanese maples thrive in zones 5-8.

4. Best leafy green tropical plant

If you would like to introduce a tropical plant to your courtyard garden, Alex Betz recommends trying a Philodendron 'Xanadu'. 'Compact and easy to maintain, this tropical plant is great for shady corners. It does best in zones 9-11 with indirect light or shade, moist, well-drained soil, and occasional fertilizing.'

This tropical beauty has large smooth leaves that feature deeply cut lobes, which makes for a dramatic outline. As the plant grows the more pronounced the lobes become. It can be grown in either a large pot or garden bed, and will soon form attractive tiered clumps with a cascade effect.

Easy care 'Xanadu' stays compact and is one of the best plants for a courtyard garden if you want a mini rainforest vibe. It looks particularly good if you group a few of them together, maybe mixing in some banana plants, elephant ears and palms to max up the leafy foliage.

Philodendron 'Xanadu' is available at Amazon.

5. Best fragrant climbing plant

'The best plants for a small courtyard are usually plants with smaller leaves with bursts of colorful flowers and intricate shapes,' says Eric Preston Stout, master gardener and landscaper. 'Another go-to for small courtyards are plants that are evergreen. They usually require less maintenance and provide year-long interest.'

One of Eric's favorite plants for small spaces is jasmine. 'My favorite for the warmer climates, especially in California, is star jasmine (USDA zone 8 to 11). This variety can be grown as a hedge or a vine. As a vine growing up and over a structure it can reach a height of 20 feet and a spread just as far. Or it can be left to grow along the ground forming a hedge 1-3 feet tall. It’s evergreen, hardy as nails, and can tolerate drought. Jasmine likes sun or shade, likes full sun to filtered sun, but can tolerate half shade or less than 4 hours of sun.'

Find out how to grow star jasmine and it will shine in your courtyard garden. The scent is unmistakably great for an enclosed seating area, where it will also provide year-long interest. When courtyard gardens are overlooked use star jasmine to remedy the situation.

You can find star jasmine plants at Walmart

Eric Preston Stout

Eric Preston Stout has a Bachelor's Degree of Science Landscape Architecture from UMASS Amherst and an Associates Degree for Landscape Contracting from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture. He is also a certified master gardener with a number of additional certifications and training in sustainable landscape design and maintenance. In 2023, his company was awarded the best landscape gardening business in El Cerrito, CA.

6. Best clipped evergreen for year-round interest

Every courtyard garden needs one or more of the best evergreen shrubs to offer year round structure and interest. Ornamental boxwood plants are the go-to if you're looking for a smart, clipped look to see you through the seasons.

'Boxwoods are ideal shrubs for low hedges or shaping in a courtyard garden,' agrees Alex Betz. 'They thrive in zones 5-9, with full sun to part shade, evenly moist, well-drained soil, and occasional pruning to keep them looking smart.'

Look out for a variety like the Baby Gem™, one of the best plants for a courtyard garden because of its bright green fine-textured foliage, small size, and compact growing habit. Although it looks cute it's a tough little shrub that won't let you down.

It won't mind a bit of drought or heat, can be left to do its own thing or trimmed into shape to keep it small if preferred. This particular baby boxwood is a dwarf variety so it will suit being in a container or alternatively the ground if you prefer.

Baby Gem™ boxwood is available at Nature Hills.

7. Best sun-loving plant

With lush tropical blooms that enhance any outdoor area, hibiscus is one of the best plants for a courtyard garden if you live in one of the hot zones. The huge flowers come in a smorgasbord of colors including pink, orange, yellow, red, and purple, and will add a vacation vibe to your space.

Hibiscus also comes in hardy varieties. 'These fast-growing plants explode with pinwheel-like flowers the size of dinner plates in late summer,' says Gail Pabst, a horticulturalist who works for the National Garden Bureau. 'Often confused with their tropical cousins, they can survive temperatures as low as -30°F. Take, for instance, Rose Mallow ‘Edge of Night’. This compact perennial with huge 8 inch bubblegum pink blooms and jet-black foliage is hardy to zone 4.'

Find out how to grow hibiscus and you'll soon discover they are one of the best flowering shrubs for a courtyard garden if you want to add masses of long-flowering tropical blooms.

Rose mallow seeds are available at Walmart

Gail Pabst

Gail Pabst works for the National Garden Bureau and All-America Selections. The National Garden Bureau is a non-profit organization that exists to educate, inspire, and motivate people to increase the use of plants in homes, gardens, and workplaces by being the marketing arm of the gardening industry.

8. Best textural ornamental grass

Now for another one of my favorites for adding texture, shape and movement to my courtyard garden, as well as being an easy 'filler' plant to dot about in pots. I like to fill several pots with it and group them together as a feature.

Drifts of the easy ornamental grass Hakonechloa macra help to soften paved areas in courtyards. It looks lovely both on its own or mixed in with other plants.

The minimal look and easy nature of this grass particularly suits modern courtyard gardens but it will work just as well in a more traditional space.

This variety, which is also known as Japanese forest grass, is the very definition of low maintenance and will look after itself. It thrives in zones 5-9, and doesn’t need watering or feeding. It's perennial too, so it lasts from year to year.

It also turns a beautiful russet color in fall, and for this reason makes it onto our shortlist of the best ornamental grasses for winter interest

Now you're up to speed with ideas for the best plants for a courtyard garden you can find out about other small space ideas too, such as balcony garden ideas and small patio ideas to breathe new life into outdoor areas.