Courtyard
Overview
This curved courtyard garden design in Faversham, Kent was created to transform an overgrown, underused space into a calm, low-maintenance garden suited to relaxed living and entertaining. Designed with early retirement in mind, the garden balances structure, beauty, and ease of upkeep, allowing the clients to enjoy their outdoor space while travelling frequently.
The Brief
When we first visited the site, the garden felt overwhelming and lacked a clear sense of organisation. The clients wanted a garden design in Faversham that would feel welcoming, manageable, and purposeful.
Key requirements included:
A relatively self-sufficient, low-maintenance garden
Spaces for entertaining friends and family
A formal outdoor dining area
A fire pit seating area for evenings outdoors
Light shade for comfort during warmer months
A small area for growing summer crops
The overall goal was to create a garden that supported leisure, socialising, and quiet enjoyment.
The Solution
Due to the natural slope of the site, the courtyard garden design was divided into three gently curved terraces. These levels are retained by brick walls and connected by shallow, flowing steps that encourage movement through the garden.
A sinuous path leads through a Corten steel moon gate, creating a sense of arrival and guiding visitors down to the potager and growing area. The central terrace forms the heart of the garden, featuring a striking arrangement of concentric circular stone setts. These circles organise the planting into gravel rings, bringing structure and rhythm to the space.
This circular design language continues into the lower terrace, where a radiating limestone sett patio defines the fire pit area and provides a strong visual anchor.
Features
Mediterranean and resilient planting surrounds the main seating areas, chosen for both drought tolerance and year-round interest. A Corten steel water feature adds gentle movement and sound, helping to mask external noise and enhance the garden’s sense of calm.
The upper terrace accommodates a generous dining table and is sheltered by a timber pergola, offering light shade without blocking daylight. A small side return was also reimagined as a shaded seating nook, ideal for morning coffee or reading, and designed to create an attractive view from the kitchen door.
The Result
The completed Faversham garden design is a cohesive and elegant courtyard garden that combines curved geometry, robust materials, and low-maintenance planting. It delivers a flexible outdoor space for entertaining, growing, and relaxation, perfectly suited to this stage of the clients’ lives and their Kent setting.
