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The Cult of the Courtyard: 10 Landscaping Ideas for City Backyards

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The Cult of the Courtyard: 10 Landscaping Ideas for City Backyards

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New York CityIssue — Old and New

The Cult of the Courtyard: 10 Landscaping Ideas for City Backyards

August 28, 2025

This week, we’re revisiting some of our all-time favorite stories about gardening in New York City. Cultivating plants in the Big Apple comes with challenges—yards tend to be small and shady, and privacy is rare—but if you have the patience, these urban gardens can produce some big-time magic. Behold…

Courtyard gardens, enclosed on all sides by walls or fences, can transform a cramped space into an oasis. They preserve privacy while welcoming sunlight. And they can make even the smallest townhouse feel larger. We’ve collected 10 of our favorites from New York City, the unofficial epicenter for courtyard gardens.

Boxwood + Brick in Upper East Side

Columnar boxwoods and brick walls lend this Upper East Side garden, designed by Lili Herrera, an elegant and somewhat formal look. Photograph courtesy of Fawn Galli, from True Blue: A Jolt of Color Enlivens a Manhattan Townhouse Garden.
Above: Columnar boxwoods and brick walls lend this Upper East Side garden, designed by Lili Herrera, an elegant and somewhat formal look. Photograph courtesy of Fawn Galli, from True Blue: A Jolt of Color Enlivens a Manhattan Townhouse Garden.

Balcony Views in Flatbush

When garden designer Brook Klausing first saw his clients’ townhouse backyard in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, it looked bleak: a chain-link fence, an old concrete patio, and a patch of hard-packed dirt. No more. Photograph courtesy of Brook Landscape, from Garden Designer Visit: Brook Klausing Elevates a Brooklyn Backyard.
Above: When garden designer Brook Klausing first saw his clients’ townhouse backyard in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, it looked bleak: a chain-link fence, an old concrete patio, and a patch of hard-packed dirt. No more. Photograph courtesy of Brook Landscape, from Garden Designer Visit: Brook Klausing Elevates a Brooklyn Backyard.

Sustainable Design in Bed-Stuy

Lauren Snyder and Keith Burns&#8\2\17;s Brooklyn townhouse has a rainwater reclamation system (on the roof), a compost tumbler, and permeable hardscaping. Photograph by Jonathan Hokklo, from Sustainable Solutions: A Modern Garden for a Historic Townhouse in Brooklyn.
Above: Lauren Snyder and Keith Burns’s Brooklyn townhouse has a rainwater reclamation system (on the roof), a compost tumbler, and permeable hardscaping. Photograph by Jonathan Hokklo, from Sustainable Solutions: A Modern Garden for a Historic Townhouse in Brooklyn.

A Bamboo Grove in Greenwich Village

An airy hedge of bamboo provides screening at the garden’s perimeter while a pared-down palette of green and white focuses the eye on the center of the space. “The white limestone is like a canvas. When the sun is directly overhead, you can see the shadows of the bamboo and other plants starkly against it,” says designer Julie Farris. Photograph by Matthew Williams, from Before & After: From &#8\2\16;Fishbowl&#8\2\17; Townhouse Garden to Private Oasis.
Above: An airy hedge of bamboo provides screening at the garden’s perimeter while a pared-down palette of green and white focuses the eye on the center of the space. “The white limestone is like a canvas. When the sun is directly overhead, you can see the shadows of the bamboo and other plants starkly against it,” says designer Julie Farris. Photograph by Matthew Williams, from Before & After: From ‘Fishbowl’ Townhouse Garden to Private Oasis.

Wisteria + Steel in Upper West Side

“We essentially built the garden around the wisteria,”says Devin O&#8\2\17;Neill (O’Neill Rose Architects), of the tree on the left. It’s the only plant they kept from the original backyard. The walls are made from sheets of corten steel, the same type of metal favored by artist Richard Serra. Photograph by Michael Moran, from A New York Story: The Stunning Revival of a Landmarked Townhouse with an Intriguing History.
Above: “We essentially built the garden around the wisteria,”says Devin O’Neill (O’Neill Rose Architects), of the tree on the left. It’s the only plant they kept from the original backyard. The walls are made from sheets of corten steel, the same type of metal favored by artist Richard Serra. Photograph by Michael Moran, from A New York Story: The Stunning Revival of a Landmarked Townhouse with an Intriguing History.

Elegant Restraint in Lefferts Garden

A high-low mix of luxury and restraint (and clipped boxwood balls) lend a European air to the Brooklyn courtyard garden (another Brook Klausing project) of Philip Birch and Kristin Meidell. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista. For more of this garden, see our book Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces.
Above: A high-low mix of luxury and restraint (and clipped boxwood balls) lend a European air to the Brooklyn courtyard garden (another Brook Klausing project) of Philip Birch and Kristin Meidell. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista. For more of this garden, see our book Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces.

Low-Maintenance Style in Brooklyn

“We were pushing for pea gravel because we had seen our clients really enjoy it with children before,” says Damon Arrington, of  Verru Design, who notes it feels good on feet while simultaneously helping to keep grass and dirt out of the hot tub. (Yes, there&#8\2\17;s a hot tub in this space, too, a rarity in city gardens.) Photograph by Morten Smidt, courtesy of Sarah Jefferys Architecture + Interiors, from Brooklyn Backyard Visit: A Fruitful Collab Between an Architect and Landscape Designers.
Above: “We were pushing for pea gravel because we had seen our clients really enjoy it with children before,” says Damon Arrington, of  Verru Design, who notes it feels good on feet while simultaneously helping to keep grass and dirt out of the hot tub. (Yes, there’s a hot tub in this space, too, a rarity in city gardens.) Photograph by Morten Smidt, courtesy of Sarah Jefferys Architecture + Interiors, from Brooklyn Backyard Visit: A Fruitful Collab Between an Architect and Landscape Designers.

Modernism in Carroll Gardens

Cor-ten steel beds and a horizontally slatted ipe wood fence lend this backyard, overhauled by Julie Farris, a appealingly minimalist look. Photograph by Matthew Williams, from A Small Brooklyn Backyard Where &#8\2\16;Every Detail, Every Inch&#8\2\17; Is Important.
Above: Cor-ten steel beds and a horizontally slatted ipe wood fence lend this backyard, overhauled by Julie Farris, a appealingly minimalist look. Photograph by Matthew Williams, from A Small Brooklyn Backyard Where ‘Every Detail, Every Inch’ Is Important.

A Green Allée in Brooklyn Heights

The house’s back addition was modeled after “the tea porch extensions often introduced to these brownstones in the \1850s,” says Josh Lekwa. Photograph by Dustin Aksland, courtesy of Elizabeth Roberts Architecture & Design, unless noted, from Plain English in Brooklyn Heights: A Very Proper Elizabeth Roberts Townhouse Remodel.
Above: The house’s back addition was modeled after “the tea porch extensions often introduced to these brownstones in the 1850s,” says Josh Lekwa. Photograph by Dustin Aksland, courtesy of Elizabeth Roberts Architecture & Design, unless noted, from Plain English in Brooklyn Heights: A Very Proper Elizabeth Roberts Townhouse Remodel.

Cool and Shady in Park Slope

Designer Kim Hoyt designed a patio of bluestone pavers in the center of the garden and added shade-tolerant plants (from Gowanus Nursery in Brooklyn) at the front and taller plants at the back to create a feeling of depth. Photograph by Dan Wonderly, from Landscape Architect Visit: A Leafy Garden in Park Slope in Brooklyn.
Above: Designer Kim Hoyt designed a patio of bluestone pavers in the center of the garden and added shade-tolerant plants (from Gowanus Nursery in Brooklyn) at the front and taller plants at the back to create a feeling of depth. Photograph by Dan Wonderly, from Landscape Architect Visit: A Leafy Garden in Park Slope in Brooklyn.

Good Flow in Brownstone Brooklyn

Above: Two stories of windows connect the indoors to the outdoors. A family room on the garden level opens to a flagstone-paved terrace. Photograph by Ty Cole for Lang Architecture, from A House United: Reimagining a Brooklyn Brownstone.

Designing a new outdoor space? Start with our tips for designing Decks & Patios in our curated guide to Hardscapes 101. For more of our favorite courtyard gardens, see:

N.B.: This post was first published January 2015; it’s been updated with new projects, photography, and links.

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