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Heritage terraces and tight courtyards
Landscaping Inner West
Making the most of a terrace-house square of ground.
Inner West gardens are small, old and full of character: Victorian and Federation terraces, courtyards you can pace out in seconds, laneway access and mature trees leaning over the fence. All Green has spent over ten years turning those tight spaces into gardens that work. Licensed, 4.9 rated, open seven days.
Licence No. 353827C
4.9 from 52 reviews
10+ years
Open 7 days
The character of the place
Old homes, tight blocks, real character
The Inner West is Sydney’s terrace country: Marrickville, Leichhardt, Balmain, Dulwich Hill and the streets around them are packed with Victorian and Federation homes on narrow blocks. Gardens here are courtyards and pocket-sized front yards, often shaded by walls and neighbours, reached through the house or down a rear lane. Space is the scarce thing, and character is the thing worth protecting.
So the work is about cleverness rather than scale: making a few square metres feel green and usable, working within heritage constraints, and getting a build done through awkward access. For work affecting significant or heritage trees, check current controls with Inner West Council, and see Sydney Water guidance for drainage on tight urban blocks.
What a terrace block makes hard
Four small-space problems we solve
Barely any ground to work with
A terrace courtyard can be a few square metres, so nothing can be wasted. We design vertically and cleverly so a tiny space still feels green, usable and considered.
Walls, fences and shade all around
Hemmed in by brick and timber, many Inner West courtyards get little sun. We choose shade-happy planting and use green walls and light surfaces to open the space up.
Access down a narrow lane
Getting materials in through a terrace or down a rear lane is a job in itself. We plan the build around tight access so the work happens cleanly without wrecking the place.
Heritage character to respect
These homes have a look worth keeping. We design gardens that suit a period terrace rather than fighting it, so the result feels like it belongs.
What we do across the Inner West
Every service, scaled to a small character block
Landscape Design Inner West
Small-space design is the craft here: vertical greening, layered planting, feature surfaces and a layout that makes a terrace courtyard feel like an outdoor room rather than a leftover square. We design to suit the period of the home, and show you the plan first.
Mulching Inner West
In a shaded, densely planted courtyard, mulch keeps the soil alive and the weeds down in the gaps between close-set plants, and a clean finish matters when the whole garden is a few steps across. We supply, spread and edge to a tidy edge.
Paving Inner West
Feature paving carries a small courtyard, so we lay it carefully on a prepared base, choosing surfaces that lift a heritage space and cope with shade and damp. Precise work, because every join shows in a garden this size.
Retaining Walls Inner West
Even tight terrace blocks use low walls, raised beds and edging to build in levels and planting where there is no room to spread out. We build and drain them properly and flag anything that needs council sign-off.
Land Clearing Inner West
Clearing a terrace garden means working through tight access to strip out overgrowth, old paving and rubbish by hand where machines cannot reach, leaving clean ground to build a new small garden on.
Turf Laying Inner West
A patch of lawn in a courtyard has to be tough and shade-tolerant. We prepare the ground and lay turf suited to a small, often shaded terrace yard, or steer you to a groundcover if lawn will only struggle there.
Tree Services Inner West
Mature trees crowd a lot of Inner West blocks and lean in from neighbours and the street. We prune to keep them healthy and safe in a tight setting and work to the council’s heritage and tree controls before any removal.
Weeding Inner West
Shaded, damp courtyards and packed beds are a haven for weeds. We clear them at the root and mulch over so a small, carefully planted garden stays clean rather than being overtaken.
Garden Maintenance Inner West
Ongoing care tuned to small character gardens: courtyard tidy-ups, hedge and climber pruning, and keeping a tight space sharp when there is nowhere for mess to hide. One-off or a regular round, seven days.
How we build in tight spaces
From a few square metres to an outdoor room
01
Survey theMeasure the space and access leafy block
We map the courtyard, the light and how we will get materials in before quoting.
02
Design it vertical and clever
The plan uses walls, layers and light surfaces so a tiny space works hard and still feels open.
03
Prepare by hand
We clear and prep through tight access, often by hand, leaving clean ground to build on.
04
Build and green it up
Paving, planting and greening go in, and we leave a small courtyard that reads like a room.
Inner West, questions from owners
What terrace owners ask first
Small does not always mean cheap here, because tight access and detailed, hand-finished work in a courtyard take time. That said, the scope is smaller. We look at the space and the access and quote free, so the figure reflects your actual courtyard.
Yes, and it is our favourite kind of job. Green walls, shade-tolerant planting, feature paving and clever layering can turn a dark few square metres into a genuine outdoor room. Small spaces reward good design more than big ones.
Carefully, and by hand where we have to. We plan the build around laneway or through-house access, protect the home on the way in and out, and keep the site clean, so tight access is our problem to solve, not yours.
Significant and heritage trees are usually protected and need approval before removal or major pruning. We check the current Inner West Council controls and work to them rather than cutting first.
Yes. We hold NSW Licence No. 353827C, have more than ten years behind us and a 4.9 rating from 52 reviews. Ask for the licence details any time you like.
We work right across the Inner West terrace suburbs and the streets around them. We are open seven days for quotes, small-space builds and ongoing courtyard care.
Coverage across the Inner West
Expert landscaping throughout Inner West
Landscaping Ashfield
Landscaping Birchgrove
Landscaping Enmore
Landscaping Haberfield
Landscaping Leichhardt
Landscaping Lewisham
Landscaping Lilyfield
Landscaping Petersham
Landscaping Rozelle
Landscaping St Peters
Landscaping Stanmore
Landscaping Summer Hill
Landscaping Sydenham
Landscaping Tempe
Gardener Leichhardt
Gardener Marrickville
Gardener Newtown
Gardener Birchgrove
Gardener Enmore
Gardener Lewisham
Gardener Lilyfield
Gardener Petersham
Gardener Rozelle
Gardener St Peters
Gardener Stanmore
Gardener Summer Hill
Gardener Sydenham
Gardener Tempe
Tree Services Rozelle
Tree Services Birchgrove
Tree Services Dulwich Hill
Tree Services Enmore
Tree Services Haberfield
Tree Services Lewisham
Tree Services Lilyfield
Tree Services Newtown
Tree Services Petersham
Tree Services St Peters
Tree Services Stanmore
Tree Services Summer Hill
Tree Services Sydenham
Tree Services Tempe
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Turn that tight courtyard into a room?
Free quotes across the Inner West, seven days a week. Tell us the space and the access and we will make the little garden count.
