TL;DR
A New Orleans courtyard garden works best when brick, a focal point, and a few reliable evergreens frame climbing vines that cover the walls. TPG – The Plant Gallery builds these gardens around plants that handle New Orleans heat, rain, and humidity.
Key Insights
- Walls are the largest planting space in a small courtyard, and a trellis with star jasmine adds greenery and privacy without taking up floor space.
- Evergreen layers keep a courtyard from looking bare between blooms.
- Drainage matters as much as plant choice in a city that gets about 60 inches of rain a year.
TPG – The Plant Gallery is a New Orleans landscaping and floral company that offers courtyard garden design built around brick, vines, and year-round greenery.
Step through a gate in the French Quarter or the Garden District and the street noise drops away. Behind the brick is a small, green room that feels private and cool. You can get that same feeling in a courtyard of almost any size. Here is how we approach courtyard garden design in New Orleans, from layout to the plants that hold up in our climate.
What Makes a New Orleans Courtyard Garden Design Different?
A New Orleans courtyard garden is an enclosed outdoor room, framed by brick, fencing, or hedges, with a fountain or statue as the focal point and lush, subtropical planting all around it. TPG – The Plant Gallery designs for the local climate too. Average highs run 80°F to 90°F and rainfall is roughly 60 inches a year, so shade and drainage shape every layout.
Every piece has to earn its spot in a small space. Raised beds make plantings look bigger, and a fountain gives the eye somewhere to land. Brick or stone underfoot gives the courtyard a solid base. If a fully paved floor feels heavy, gravel is a good alternative. It still drains, and pots supply the greenery. A round bistro table fits most small courtyards. Our post on small garden design in New Orleans covers seating, gravel, and containers, and our guide to pots helps you choose them.
Which Vines Work Best on a New Orleans Courtyard Trellis?
Star jasmine is the vine TPG – The Plant Gallery reaches for most often on a courtyard trellis. It grows well in New Orleans weather, blooms white in late spring and again in fall, and can climb 10 to 20 feet when it has support. Give it full sun, or a little shade where the heat is intense.
Wisteria is the other classic, but choose the species with care. Chinese and Japanese wisteria are quite aggressive, so American wisteria, a Louisiana native, is the better non-invasive option. Whichever you pick, build a very strong trellis, since wisteria’s weight can collapse a wooden one.
Fig ivy covers a wall quickly. It grips with sticky rootlets, so it needs regular pruning, and pulling it off later can leave marks on the surface behind it. On stucco or older brick, a freestanding trellis keeps the vine off the wall.
What Plants Keep a Courtyard Green All Year?
TPG often combines dwarf yaupon holly, liriope, flax lily, and Asian jasmine. Dwarf yaupon is a Louisiana native that grows 3 to 5 feet tall and does well in full sun to part shade. Liriope handles shade to full sun, and it should be trimmed back in late February. Asian jasmine forms a mat 4 to 6 inches deep and needs shearing once a year.
| Plant | Role | Light | Size or note |
| Star jasmine | Climber | Full sun, some shade in hot spots | 10 to 20 ft with support |
| American wisteria | Climber | Full sun for best flowering | Native, hardy in zones 5 to 9 |
| Dwarf yaupon holly | Evergreen shrub | Full sun to part shade | 3 to 5 ft tall, 3 to 6 ft wide |
| Liriope | Groundcover | Shade to full sun | 8 to 18 in tall |
| Asian jasmine | Groundcover | Full sun to part shade | 4 to 6 in mat, shear yearly |
| Japanese yew | Screen hedge | Full sun to part shade | About 15 ft tall on average |
How Do You Screen a Courtyard From the Neighbors?
Japanese yew (Podocarpus macrophyllus) is a dependable screen for a courtyard. It is a popular evergreen in the lower South, grown as a hedge or in narrow spaces where an upright shape works best. It averages about 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide, and a more compact selection, ‘Maki’, suits tighter spots.
Sweet viburnum (Viburnum odoratissimum) is another good privacy option. It is a fast-growing evergreen that can reach about 15 to 20 feet tall, so it fills in quickly where you want a tall screen. Give it room, and plan on regular trimming if you want to keep it shorter.
Plan Your New Orleans Courtyard With TPG – The Plant Gallery
Every courtyard has its own light, walls, and drainage, which is why a site visit beats any plant list. TPG – The Plant Gallery has licensed architects on staff and has designed New Orleans landscapes since 1991. To start your courtyard, request a free consultation.
