Neglected patch. What to do with it?

[ICouldHaveCheckedFirst]

Ideas needed please. We have a patch of ground in our garden. the patch is approx 6m x 7m. It was where the children's play equipment was, then became a dumping ground. We have cleared it to tidy it up, but want to improve its appearance.
Soil is clay, pretty fertile, and the site is partly in shade (tall trees we can't remove - not ours!). We're in west central Scotland, so we get plenty of rain (except this month - it's scorching!).

We are hoping to move in a couple of years so we don't want to spend a lot of money.

Things we've considered:

1. Raised veg beds and landscaping (stones). Costed this up at about £1K, which seems too much.
2. Turf. Will need mowed, which will be a pain as it's small and not close to the rest of our grass (DH favours this but he WILL complain about the mowing!)
3. Wild flower meadow. May take 2 years to establish, and it could be an eyesore until then. And anyway, the flowers may spread and become 'weeds' in our other beds.
4. Fruit trees & bushes. We already have several elsewhere. Would probably need turf around them; see no 2 re maintenance of turf.

We are lacking inspiration; please help!

Wildflower meadow. My parents had a beautiful one the first year. And helpful for the bees.

We turned ours into a veg patch but did it ourselves. It didn't cost much at all except for material.

You could add some naturalising bulbs this autumn and then wildflower seeds in spring to prolong the number of months it's in flower. Crocus and dwarf irises will pop up in February or March (snowdrops too but are better purchased in the green in Feb). Daffodils or snakehead fritillaries will flower around April and then Alliums in May if you get early bloomers or June if not. They'll multiply each year so you only need to plant some small groups together and they'll fill out eventually.

You can but special wildflower turf. Needs mowing twice a year.

*buy

If you want veg, simply dig it over, and cross it with gravel paths at 2m intervals. That's cheap and low labour, especially if you use a rotavator-you can hire them cheaply. Or do that for some of it and wildflower the rest.

What is next to it? I feel like a need a diagram. You can’t extend what’s next to it into it?

Choose a theme, then design around that.

A moon garden - some white cobbles to outline the beds, something representing the moon, white flowers and night-blooming flowers.
A sensory garden - lots of lush fragrant planting and a small water feature.
A 'secret' garden with a comfortable bench hidden in an arbour of roses. A bird bath. Plants to attract bees.

Some interesting ideas, thanks!

notsogreenthumb - DH costed the materials and got to £1K, with us providing all labour and tools. I did ask where we could trim the costs but he didn't think there was much scope. (He does tend to over-engineer though!)

Tinpotspectator - Re planting veg: the topsoil is good but not very deep. Under it is builder's rubble (from an extension done before we bought the house). We've spent this week digging out whole bricks, broken bricks, slabs, tiles, etc.

MilduraS - Bulbs are a possibility, maybe with wildflowers as well, to get year-round colour. Or at least, to keep the weeds at bay.

Umbra - some lovely ideas.

4PawsGood - yes, maybe extending what's next to it would be simplest. It's beds with a mix of things - rhodies, bulbs.

Thanks all. Will go and ponder some more.

If it's partly shady you could go for a woodland vibe. Lots of ferns, bluebells in the spring, snowdrops, foxgloves, and maybe a mini-pond with stones for the frogs and a couple of water plants.

Herb garden?

What about a single colour garden? Pick a colour and plant only flowers / trees / bushes of that colour.

White was popular in victorian gardens but shades of purple / lilac look stunning.

www.flickr.com/photos/janelegate/8003082337

IMO MilesJuppish has the best idea, though IMO leaving it alone (maybe crush the stones removed to put in a little path) is the best way, and just mow twice a year to encourage wild life, insects etc.... .

We have left the middle of our front garden to grow wild and it's lovely. Though I have got an entirely organic garden, it's been like that for the 16 years we've been here.

Thanks for all the suggestions. It's been very helpful.

We have a patch of ground in our garden ... It was where the children's play equipment was ... We are hoping to move in a couple of years
Who will your potential buyers be? Will they want the patch to be a play area for their DC or is there a better alternative space?
I'd go for something to entice but looking low maintenance eg MilesJupp's woodland theme with something like a reading nook or a fire pit.