New garden advice - with photo!

[housemover2019]

Posted this in chat initially -didn't know there was a separate gardening thread!

NC for this as photo is outing. Moved house recently and have this as a back garden. Large patio area that we're stuck with for now as don't have the £££ to replace the paving, plus decent sized grass area (also extends around side and large front garden).

I really want to add some trees and/or shrubs, bedding to give some privacy from houses behind and help make it feel more private. I have no idea where to start however or what to get as I've never done any gardening beyond potted plants and hanging baskets! Would like low maintenance for this reason, and preferably not too expensive as the house move has already cost enough...

Not too bothered about main grass area as climbing frame is being delivered later this week, plus a large football net will join it. It's just the back I want to add to. It's approx 18-20 feet wide.

Any ideas greatly appreciated!

Barcham Trees have a brilliant website for you to start your research. They explain different shapes of trees and height so you could make a shortlist from there. They only sell long established trees so you won’t be buying from them but it helps you filter out the unsuitable types.

I have found that Wilko provide excellent shrubs , trees and bedding plants. reasonably priced. Also Morrison’s, Aldi and Lidl. I also recommend the local library, for some ideas on planning a small garden before you invest in books or plants. Then look at Amazon previously owned books who sell for as little as £1.

Finally Pinterest Landscape ideas has thousands of images. Pin the ideas that you like and you will most likely find that some colours, shapes and plants will dominate. This is a great staring point.

If you are itching to get started look on Free-cycle or Freely Wheely for both pots and plants. Buy some bedding plants that take your fancy and fill up your patio really cheaply. Don’t be seduced by buying expensive compost or feed for your planters. If you are planting up one season only, then a mild seaweed feed will be needed just once a month for container plants,

Thanks @florentina1 , great advice! I'm in NI and unfortunately we don't have wilkos, Aldi or Morrison's here, just Lidl! Have stayed away from Pinterest so far as i was worried I'd get overwhelmed and/or go for options wholly unsuitable or too high maintenance!
Thanks again for the advice, esp the gardening books - will check my local library!

How about putting a laurel hedge in front of the fence.
Something like a cherry laurel would give you white flowers in spring and is evergreen. Quite cheap if you are prepared to buy smaller plants and wait for them to grow and the do grow quite fast at around half a metre a year. They can grow quite tall but are easy to prune back to the required height by pruning in early summer with a hedge trimmer.

With a football goal going on the lawn, you need tough plants To edge it Creeping thyme, lavender and rosemary won’t mind a football. Also euonymus which comes in lots of different shades. It can be left to do its own thing or trimmed and shaped to make a low hedge. It is tough as old boots . I would also get evergreen ornamental grasses. Anemanthele lessoniana (pheasant grass) will give you lots of movement and year round colour. I plant my grasses around Cornus which has bright red, or yellow stems in the winter. It is another tough plant and easy to care for. Prune it back hard in the spring and stick the pruning into the ground for lots of free plants.
I do t know if you like this sort of style but it is very easy to do.

I do like that @florentina1 . Would ideally like a tree or two as well for height.

Check these out, they are my favourites
Prunus Seralia
Amelanchier
Sorbus Cashmiriani
Rowan
Robinia Pseudacia
Robinia Casque Rouge
Flowering cherry

All of these can be bought in dwarf varieties

Fab, thanks @florentina1 !

Lovely size garden.

I'd put flower beds along the back fence, with maybe something like a clematis to grow over it.

If you want height budleja's are very robust plants, have a pretty flower in summer and butterflies love them. Can cut them right back in autumn but otherwise require no maintenance.

Some fruit trees? An apple or cherry would be nice.

Thank you girliefriend - again, some great ideas for me to look into this weekend!

Camellia are robust and will flower. Flowers will get knocked of by a football but it doesn’t damage the plant.

Photinia Louise is a lovely glossy and rich red/pink.

Pittosporum are robust, P. Elizabeth is a lovely variegated version with pink edges leaves.

Ditto spotted laurel and Choisya, both standard garden shrubs as they’re evergreen and low maintenance.

We have recently moved to a new house with new turf and fencing. We were thinking of planting some smaller silver birch trees. They make a lovely noise when the leaves rustle in the wind and look beautiful when the sun shines through them. They might work well along your fence

On a separate note I'd power wash the patio, suspect it might come up lovely.

I'd also paint the fences, cuprinol do some fab colours and it makes such a difference.

It's all quite square. Maybe create a corner flower bed and note how much sun it gets and at what time of the day. Then pick a colour scheme and visit a garden centre and buy a few things to start off. Something taller for the back, mid height for the middle and so on. Try and choose things which flower at different times too.

The fencing definitely could do with a coat of something and then some climbers to soften it all a bit and a couple of pots on the cleaned paving.

Yes Cuprinol do some lovely colours, there is a very pale sage green one I think is gorgeous. That and the patio power washed, lots of lovely pots and patio furniture and lawn reseeded, as well as the different tree ideas people have posted and that space could easily be gorgeous,

@Bluntness100 - the paving was powerwashed the week we moved in! You should have seen it beforehand! Is 20 years old and hadn't been washed in almost all that time I suspect.

To those suggesting painting the fence - that's the first job on my to do list over the next few weeks. Desperately needs done. Thought that was too obvious to mention
I'll definitely be looking into all the other suggestions, thanks!

Should have said it was raining heavily when that photo was taken so paving is a lot darker than it is usually. I've also had a delivery of new patio furniture this week, plus I've made a start on pots for the paved area. I'll get there!