Case Study: Creating a Tropical Jungle in a Small City Courtyard
Small London courtyard garden designed with a tropical theme, featuring a large Musa basjoo (Hardy Banana), raised sleeper beds, and white gravel ground cover.
London or the Tropics?
One of the most common misconceptions in UK garden design is that "small" implies "minimalist." Homeowners often feel forced into sparse paving and potted box balls because they fear a small courtyard can’t accommodate large plantings.
At The Moonlight Garden Design Co., we take the opposite approach. We believe small spaces demand bold architecture.
In our recent project at Marlborough Mews, we transformed a dark, overlooked concrete patch into a lush, immersive jungle. The secret? Vertical scale, hardy exotics, and the strategic use of specific materials to create light. Here is the blueprint for building a tropical sanctuary in a British postcode.
1. The Backbone: Raised Oak Sleepers
In a courtyard with concrete footings, ground space is premium real estate. To create the feeling of being "immersed" in nature without losing your floor space, we built up.
We constructed deep raised beds (600mm) using Reclaimed Oak Railway Sleepers. Unlike new softwood, reclaimed oak brings instant history and texture. The dark, weathered timber contrasts beautifully against the lush green foliage of the ferns, creating a "prehistoric" aesthetic that looks incredible under our nocturnal lighting.
Why we specify them: They are incredibly durable, rot-resistant, and provide the soil volume needed for extensive root systems.
Get the Look: We recommend UK Sleepers for authentic, high-grade timber. 👉 View the Reclaimed Oak Sleepers we used here
A young Phoenix canariensis palm rises from a rustic reclaimed oak sleeper bed, its trunk ringed with crisp white gravel and framed by fresh, vibrant foliage – a striking small garden focal point with a subtle tropical feel.
2. The Giant: Musa Basjoo (Hardy Banana)
The star of this design is undoubtedly the Musa basjoo. Many clients ask, "Can you really grow bananas in the UK?"
The answer is yes. Musa basjoo is the root-hardy Japanese banana. While the leaves will die back with the first frost, the root system survives down to -10°C (if well mulched).
In a small space, they are pure architectural magic. Their paddle-shaped leaves act like translucent stained glass when the sun hits them, and they provide massive vertical height—drawing the eye up towards the sky and making the garden's footprint feel larger, not smaller.
View looking towards white patio doors from a garden, framed by a large banana plant and potted palms, creating a seamless indoor-outdoor connection.
3. The Lighting Hack: Spanish Gold Gravel
One of our core design philosophies is "The 16-Hour Garden." We design spaces that must look bright during the day and glow warmly at night.
In a shady, high-walled courtyard like Marlborough Mews, dark paving sucks the light out of the room. To combat this, we swapped traditional slate for light-reflecting aggregates.
We utilised Spanish Gold Chippings (12-20mm). This aggregate is a game-changer for "Nocturnal" design. During the day, the golden-white hues bounce ambient sunlight back into the home's interior. At night, when hit by our warm-white (2700K) spike lights, the gravel acts as a passive reflector, filling the courtyard with a soft, ambient glow.
Get the Look: We source our aggregates from Stone Warehouse for consistency in colour and size. 👉 View the Spanish Gold Chippings here
4. Texture Over Colour: The Tree Ferns
To contrast the broad leaves of the Banana, we introduced Dicksonia antarctica (Soft Tree Ferns).
These are the "Kings of Shade." In the darker corners of the courtyard where the sun doesn't reach, Tree Ferns thrive. Their fibrous trunks add instant maturity and a prehistoric texture that concrete cannot match.
Close-up of a fibrous Tree Fern (Dicksonia antarctica) trunk with vibrant green fronds uncurling at the top.
5. Powered by Science
While the aesthetic is "Wild Jungle," the planning was precise engineering. We used Shoot Gardening software to verify that each selected plant was suited to the specific soil pH and aspect of the mews.
We also created a Seasonal Colour Checklist to ensure that when the Banana leaves die back in winter, the structural evergreens like Fatsia japonica take over, ensuring 365 days of interest.
A seasonal planting chart for Marlborough Mews showing bloom times for Phormium, Pieris, and Ferns across Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
Get the Look
You don't need a site visit to transform your space. Using our Digital Twin technology, we can model your courtyard in 3D, test the sunlight for tropical plants, and provide you with a "Ready-to-Build" pack for your local landscaper.
