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Courtyard Gardens in New York City: Our Favorite Backyards in Manhattan and Brooklyn

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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

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
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
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
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.

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