What can I do with this hideous garden…

[Sjenson21]

Makes me quite depressed. Tree is coming down next week so that’s a start. Have started repainting fence too (dark oak colour). I could spend maybe up to £5k but fear that won’t get much in terms of landscaping! Anyone got any suggestions? The slope is quite steep…

Some plants!

Put trellis and climbers on the right and left fences.

How old is your DC? It's better to leave the lawn for playing, then rethink when DC are older.

Can you level out the slope? Or make it terraced?

The tree should stay.

Does the play equipment have to stay? It's quite a tiny garden to be so dominated by that. Do you have a park nearby?

What do you need the garden to do for you? Kids? Dogs? Patio/ outdoor dining? Grow veg?
A garden should be what YOU want it to be... so decide what you want first... then plan from there..

Get a retractable washing line instead of the rotary one. Take up those two paving stones that are like a red carpet to the rotary. They make it look like that is the focus of the entire garden.

Paint the toys with frenchic so they are less in your face. Plant plants.

..and the garden is not hideous... it's just not yours...yet!

I would say the tree is the best bit. You need more trees not less. Gardens are for green things.
And why 2 fences? Have you fallen out with your neighbour?

Returf

Add flower beds

Paint shed thing (and clean the roof) and get a bin store and paint that the same colour

Replace concrete slabs with local stone or something a bit more modern.

Get a retractable clothes line

I'd plant a green roof on top of that shed - some gravel and a bit of compost, plant some sedums.
Get rid of those pavers in the middle of the grass, move your bins so they're not in your field of vision, or screen them. Get rid of the paths, you don't really need them for a small garden, and return in the autumn

Re-turf in the autumn

The tree is the nicest bit. Keep the tree!

I'd also put in steps, instead of a downward sloping path that could be hazardous in winter

It’s not that bad. The tree is awful, I hate conifers.
Just needs re turfing and some plants

You could grow something up and over the roof of the shed.

Yes, steps would be much nicer. They are a focus point and you can sit on them and eat an ice cream.

If you only need a little grass for playing and no need for veg beds etc I'd go tropical.

On your slope I'd have loads of tropical looking plants. Really dense and look great pretty quickly. Join a few Facebook groups on uk tropical look gardening for inspiration.

Throw in a few lights, screen off bins, retractable washing line and your 5k will go a long way.

You want curves. Spend money on decent patio, raised if the slope is that bad (doesn't look it but hard to tell with the angle).

A circular lawn would work. Where the conifer is put a raised bed (use decking supports - a competent chippie should be able to knock something up). Big plants - you need height there. Then between lawn and raised beds/fence gravel, with a few of the same patio slabs to pull patio and garden together. Near right another big plant in a bed, continue behind that and plant along the fence. Climbers against the garage. Fence in a bin store again with climbers.

Oh my, is love a blank canvas like that.

Peeking over your fence, your neighbour looks like a gardener. Chat to him/her about plants and ask for anything that/tgey are splitting.

Get rid of all but essential paving / gravel and use as planting beds. Returf

Remove the gravel. Turf/dig up for flower beds everywhere which is currently covered by gravel. Raised beds at the sides of the garden?

Keep the paving stones except the two odd stones leading to the washing line.

Remove the rotary washing line and get a double retractable line.

Put high trellis up against the fence on both sides and grow climbing plants.

Consider doing a green roof on top of your garage.

Get a wooden wheelie bin store to hide your wheelie bins.

You could put an outdoor chalkboard on the back part of the garage for DC to play with.

Personally, I'd get rid of the tree. It's ugly and oppressive. Depending on DC ages, that's an ideal spot for a small wooden sandpit or sand and water table (and you could rig up a sail shade on the fence/garage to shade it in hot weather).

I would create a step rather than the slope, get rid of the path and the gravel. Retractable washing line and remove the play equipment.
Plant an Acer tree (those lovely orangey ones, they are pretty and don't grow too big.
Flower bed around the perimeter - plant tall flowers towards the back of each bed like hollyhock, sunflowers, foxgloves and more delicate perennials towards the front.

Hand some trailing plants in hanging baskets from the garage wall or you could grow a wisteria or a vine or something else pretty against it as a focal point. Someone suggested a living roof - that would be awesome.

A sandpit where the tree is with a sun sail over would be pretty.

You've got a lot to work with and it wouldn't take much to make it nice

You could even get a slide built in off the side of the patio (ie down the slope)

It's a good idea to make the slope work to your advantage. A slide is a great idea. Our garden is depressingly flat but if we had a slope I'd love to do a mini rock/sloped garden next to a slide and incorporate some water channels for my DC to play with water/boats. You'd need some water channelling pipes and a water pump but you could make a fantastic little garden and plant round with herbs and rock plants.

If you think it's depressing now, don't paint your fencing dark brown. Look for a lovely sage green or one of the lighter seaside/ice cream colours - bone or light blue.

Definitely get rid of the tree, it will just get bigger and bigger.

Look on YouTube there are loads of wonderful ideas there. Think of a 'theme' and take it from there.

I would refurbish the lawn for child play purposes and re-stone the side paths with some attractive stone, then create pot gardens along each side, with lots of climbers up the fences.