Those faux foliage panels don't last ime. They fade and look tacky very quickly. And they always look fake. Plus they just end up in landfill being non-recyclable and non biodegradable. I'd rethink that idea. You could have living vines or just repaint the fence.

You have a lovely wood fence and attractive brickwork. Is proper paving beyond your budget?

Tell us more about this space. How big? How do you intend to use it? Sit there, entertain, eat, sleep, turn your doggie/kids loose in, etc etc?

I get the impression this is a hot and dry climate. So a hard surface matching the walls (or real grass) is out of the question?

Where are you? How do you access the space? As above, what do you want to use it for?

Your climate? That will affect what surface for the courtyard would be appropriate. The space appears small? Correct? I am a fan of pavers, have had them in two homes, a light color preferable, less heat during warm weather. I think you should leave the fence alone & use it as a nice backdrop for plants, could always do drought tolerant. i don like those fake folliage panels either, they never look good IMO.

What are you going to do in your courtyard? Put out some chairs? I'd definitely want some greenery that's not plastic. I'd probably put in a circular patio, surrounded by garden. You can just do hostas, which are pretty indestructible, but some height might be nice.

Drainage might be better if you mix up pavement and ground.

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Thank you to all the comments and suggestions so far. To answer a couple of the questions - it is a hotter, drier climate. And the space is maybe around 10' x 12' so not very big. We access it from the house but can open one of the fence panels to access for work purposes. Lastly, I don't think real grass would grow real well in the courtyard.

We truthfully are struggling to decide what we want to use the space for. We have young kids so have thought about it for a small play space. Have also thought about it for an eating or sitting area. We are open to ideas on that front.

Since the space is small, we are open to almost anything in terms of budget.

Thanks again for the feedback this far and we open to more of it.