gardening for a non-gardener

[SmallCarrot]

I'm not that keen on gardening, I go out every now and then and chuck a few bulbs in. Our garden is a bit of lawn, a few shrubs and a few trees - we've planted a couple of mountain ash and cherry trees and a hawthorn (I think) and horse chestnut have self seeded. The horse chestnut will get too big for our garden but it's only 8 inches tall at the moment so I'm leaving it for now - I doubt we'll live here when it's big enough to be a problem.

I want to put some brightly coloured stuff in that will also be good ground cover, plus I'd like a small magnolia.

Any advice for what to plant please?

For small magnolias, I don't think you can beat a nicely shaped stellata. One of those plants that supremely popular for a reason.

You don't say what conditions you have around your garden, but think about a balance between evergreens (suggestions in the thread about screening), hardy perennials, bulbs and ground cover. Geraniums can be a very low-maintenance option and very rewarding because the right variety in the right spot will flower for months on end - you can get them for everything from a sun-baked patch of gritty soil to deep clay! Ground cover choices depend to a great extent on your aspect!

My advice is to watch the Alan titchmarsh series " how to be a gardener " on you tube