I love the idea!

What direction does the courtyard face as that dictates what you can grow. No point in buying sun loving plants when you have loads of shade.

Where are you in the UK? Cornwall has a very different climate to say Aviemore.

I love the idea!

What direction does the courtyard face as that dictates what you can grow. No point in buying sun loving plants when you have loads of shade.

Where are you in the UK? Cornwall has a very different climate to say Aviemore.

You must really love it Kildermorie, you've said it twice! :-)

If you're looking for pots, Maggs, you'll need them to be very big ones to take the big plants you envisage. And you'll need to be ready and willing to water them frequently. I thoroughly recommend the water retaining crystals that you can add to compost. It's especially useful for growing things in pots as they help water absorption and keep it available for the plants.

Have you had a look at the "GoYpedia" pages that you get to from the "alphabet buttons" at the bottom of each page? Plant selection is such a matter of taste that I'd be reluctant to prescribe plants for you. Check out categories such as "Container garden ideas", "courtyard gardens" and "tropical garden ideas".

Maggs when you say 'only gets sun early in the morning' just how much sun does the courtyard get an hour, 2 or 3? It does make a difference to what you can grow. Although they are not particularly colourful ferns of various sizes could help to fill out the display and like shade. There are also dwarf rhododendron cultivars that can take a lot of shade.

The most crucial piece of info is where you are in the UK - that dictates which plants are more likely to survive in pots because the variation in temperatures between north and south over winter can be extreme.

You may find the answer to this question useful -
http://www.growsonyou.com/question/show/23842

For reliable tough colour all the year round a pot of Euonymus fortunii Emerald 'n gold is hard to beat. It doesn't get too big if left as a bush, it is easily trimmed and if you put it up against a wall it will climb up it. Can you be more obliging than that? Ferns are a good idea - some are evergreen and some not. They look good if near water so perhaps you could have a small water feature, perhaps a half barrel or something?
When you look at the plants for shade list bear in mind that the best effect is achieved if you have a good contrast of shapes both of the whole plant and the individual leaves - something with big shiny leaves, something narrow and spiky, something dainty and ferny...
Bright colour is more dfficult but you might try violas in winter and fibrous rooted begonias in summer - these are annuals and would need planting again every year, but would do OK in baskets attached to the walls as well as in ordinary troughs and pots.

One must have for you would be fatsia japonica, it has large palmate tropical looking leaves, does well in shade,is evergreen and i have a couple in pots that have survived the last two terrible Scottish winters.

Thank you all for your replies. The plants you have recomended (so far) are exactly what I envisaged and have added them to my list.

I live in Liverpool, and the area I wish to fill with plants only gets sun (when there is any sun!!) until about 9:00am, the remainder of the day is in shade. However, it is a small walled area so is fairly sheltered.

Once again thankyou....

Fatsia's a good one, but I'd leave getting that till Spring - it can be a bit frost sensitive in a harsh winter, particularly when its young. Other ones to consider are Pieris, Camellia, Skimmias such as 'fragrans' and 'Redruth' (male and female plants respectively). All four of those prefer non alkaline soil, so use ericaceous compost. Sarcococca varieties are good in shade too, evergreen, fragrant flowers in winter. Ferns are obvious ones, as mentioned already by someone else - perennials which cope with shade are Lysimachia, Ajuga reptans, Campanula muralis, Astilbe (as long as you keep them moist), Tiarella (check out Skids variegated), Primrose/Primula and Lily of the Valley (convallaria) is good in shade.