3 tips for getting more from a courtyard garden

If you love gardening but are low on space, a courtyard could be your answer. But before you start, think about these important points to see if it's right for you.

• Courtyard gardens don't always get a lot of sun, so vegetable growing may prove difficult. But if there's a consistently sunny spot, it's quite possible.
• Unless there's at least five or six hours of sunlight a day, gardening is unlikely to be rewarding. Make sure the courtyard has access to plenty of natural light.
• Herbs can survive with less light than vegetables, so an intensive herb garden may make the best use of shade-prone space.
• Fruiting trees can also be grown quite well in poor light because they depend on summer warmth as well as sunlight.

• Put extra effort into improving the soil so it can support more intensive planting.
• Extra well-rotted manure and regular watering will help the plants that are grown closer together.
• Interplanting — working with plants' strengths and weaknesses to avoid competition and encourage healthy growing — is also ideal for courtyard gardening.

• Wall brackets for hanging baskets of herbs or trailing vegetables, such as cherry tomatoes or cucumbers, can be put on sunny walls or fences.
• A stepped plant stand can be stood on a wooden platform. Add castors to make it easy to move groups of pots into the sun.
• Fruit trees can be espaliered (trained to grow flat) to walls that receive afternoon sun.
• For climbing beans and other vegetable plants that need support, attach a trellis or wire to fences and walls.

If you're considering a courtyard garden, there are several factors to consider before you begin. But if you plant according to the light and climate, your yields could be much better than you expected.