Photo of area.

I think I would treat the area as a ‘whole’ and not divide it into two. Can you continue the paving and put a couple of nice big pots with leafy plants?

Thanks, bargainhunter. I'm suppose I could continue the theme, but I was thinking that having something different there could be visually appealing. Here's what the other half of the courtyard looks like.

I would plant narrow evergreen shrubs or vines to at least partially conceal the fences and utility box. If that’s a sliding door behind it, i would think you want a path from there to the patio. Design the area as a view from everywhere it is visible, not just a functional space to use.

Good point on the hot water system - it's an eyesore. I was planning to use a screen or something similar to conceal it from all angles.

I would like to have a proper path from the sliding door to the patio.

Are you suggesting plants and vines along all the exposed fence, or just the metal section?

Astroturf

I would screen the fences enough to create a unified look. i don’t mean a unified hedge, but lose the hodgepodge fence look. You can conceal the heater with lattice, painted ir stsined to natch the fences or house. Concrete stepping stones from the sliders to the concrete pad, set in gravel or groundcover, will be perfect. you can make these yourself. i think you will find inspiration in japanese garden books. I’m not suggesting you should make one, but the principles of designing a space and scale like yours apply. Their plant pallete is also similar to North Carolina.

Here are some ideas:

Thanks, Doug, much appreciated! This looks fantastic. I was wondering what your thoughts are on having planters of clumped bamboo along the fence line?

Bamboo would look great.

Thanks Doug, much appreciated. One last question: what would you suggest to conceal the area shown here? As you can see the whole length is unsightly, and a single screen on the side of the hot water service won't suffice. That being said, any solution would

need to allow access to the area.

Three narrow lattice panels, stsine to mstch the dark trim of the house, will do the trick. if the white netal is still too visible through the lattice, paint it too.

Thanks all, this has been very helpful. I'm just about ready to get started on this project, but have one last question. I want to put some sort of plant trainer, be it a wire frame of or lattice, on this metal fence, but I want it to extend above the fence as it's rather short. What would you suggest?

Just an update - I have finished work on the courtyard, before and after photos below. I'm fairly pleased with the result, so thanks again to all who gave their suggestions and advice.

Good job! What did you plant?

How About a attractive pot to dtore the hose? And is it possible to unify the colors of your sides of the two fences and the lattice enclosure? The taller fence looks like it’s yours since the backside is facing you. in any case the neighbors may be amenable to letting you stain or paint your side. They could also be covered with inexpensive reed rolls. Of course if you will be cladding all in some vine this may be a moot point.

Thanks, kitasei2. I have planted star jasmine along the entire fence line and have set up wire guides to train the vines up the fence, with the aim of creating a 'jasmine wall'. In hindsight I would have liked a different colour of paint for the fence but given a lot of it will hopefully be covered by jasmine, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.