Need ideas for this messy garden!

[superoz]

Looking for ideas as to what I can do with my messy corner of the garden, which we have never done anything with.

There is a big mound of earth in the corner where weeds constantly pop up. Trying to clear the area but haven’t got a clue about garden design. We are on a budget so can’t afford to spend much, just want to work on it myself and make it look presentable rather than the current weed fest that we have!

The soil is clay so gets really hard in dry weather. Not sure where to begin. Any ideas appreciated!

Grow some shrubs or trees you like against the warm wall.

My first thought was to have a bench under the (pretty) tree or around the trunk.

A couple of ideas.

To keep it simple and cheap I would put in a border that includes the tree. I'd start by getting on my knees and had weeding the back, get out the roots. Then dig up the pile of soil in the corner to level it off. Take all the crap to the dump. You'll need a hand fork, a garden fork, something to dump the soil and weeds into and a half moon to cut into the grass to create the edge of the border. Then, if you want the cheapest option for plants, get to wilkos and buy a few boxes of their mixed bulbs. It is hard to plant up bulbs into clay but I've found they seem to do fairly well in it. Wilko is amazing for graden stuff generally. Or if you can spend a little more check out the secret gardening club. Most plants are £2-4 so just pick the stuff you like.

The next step on could be to buy some bamboo and build some supports against the wall and grow some climbers, clamatis or honeysuckle.

Agree that Wilko bulbs are amazing. I also went into my local B&Q last weekend and wondered why I never shopped for garden plants there. We bought an acer for half the price of the garden centre we used last year and it's almost the same size as our year 2 acer.

I'd say first do some good prep this year to improve the soil.

Clear everything out of that border and dig it over, removing any large stones as you go. Buy some bags of composted manure (make sure it's composted) and spread it on the dug-over bed. IIRC one 50L bag should cover about 2m of a 1m wide bed. Then spread a roll of anti-weed membrane over it and spread bark chippings over the membrane to hold it down and make it look less ugly.

Now get reading (and Mumsnetting!) for inspiration and knowledge, before starting your planting next spring.

When you start planting, you will find that your heavy clay has turned into lovely, weed-free, fertile soil. You do not need to remove the membrane or chippings to plant, just cut a cross where you want to put your plants and plant them through the membrane.

The exception is for bulbs, which have to have the membrane removed where you plant them, but you can brush the chippings back over once you've planted the bulbs.

Ooh, those are lovely, simple but effective. Have been thinking about what trellis etc I need to grow climbers. Do those need to be attached to the wall / fence, or are they self supporting? Any ideas for where I'd go for instructions? Thank you and sorry to highjack the thread!

Sorry, that was meant to be a reply to @Somuddled

I'm so proud of them so I'm more than happy to talk about it. These are quite tall so I did use long quite thick bamboo (9 foot I think) but the shape can be made with any length. Not secured to the wall at all, but I might put in a single hook in the middle once the plants are a but higher up them.

I started with the central cane. Inserted it about a foot into the soil right behind the plant. Gave it a really good push then used a mallet to get it in further. Then did the same with each side piece, both inserted behind the central cane(so between the cane and the wall). This is when you have yo decide how wide you want the fan to be, the top of the fan can't be any longer than your longest piece of bamboos (as you won't be able to attach it). From there I attached the horizontal canes to the upright ones using cable ties. Also 'weave' them for extra strength. So outside edge in front of the outermost canes but behind the middle cane. Then with the next one up, do that in reverse. Outside edge behind outermost and in front of the central one. When securing withe cable ties, do them up loosely first l, so that you can step back and decide if they are the right height. Play around with it before making them really tight. It will all hold together really nicely. Final step (if you can be bothered) is get sting and tie then between the horizontal canes. So far they are holding up well.

Thank you, sounds achievable! Will have a play (once I've done the million other garden jobs...)

How attached are you to that tree? I think I would consider losing it.

What is that aerial / telegraph pole thing? I would consider planting another tree or shrub (to the left of the existing one, nearer the wall) so that the sight-line obscures the pole. Choose a plant where you can raise the canopy so you can still see the best part of the wall but the leaves hide the pole.

You could then design the border to suit what you want instead of working round the tree.

Some really good advice, especially from @Dilbertian and @Somuddled .

@senua funnily enough I have considered getting rid of the tree, it's a Bramley apple but the fruit has never been great so not that attached to it. The pole behind the wall is a street light as we are next to a main road and it would be good if we can "hide" it, but the position of the existing tree does restrict what we can put there.

Do you thin out the fruit as it grows? Thinning the fruit makes a huge difference to the quality of the apples. Also (forgive me if I'm assuming too much here) you do realise that Bramleys are cooking apples, not eating apples?

the position of the existing tree does restrict what we can put there.
G'wan. Be radical and get rid of it. Really think about designing the corner - with a focal point and vertical interest - rather than just thinking "what random plants can I bung in there?"

@Dilbertian I’ve never heard of thinning out (gardening novice here!). Yes we do cook them, added a ton of sugar (way more than we do with shop bought ones) and the only overriding flavour is extreme sourness!

I’ve never heard of thinning out
Basically the concept is "quality not quantity". It is better to have a smaller number of stunning examples (achieved by culling or 'thinning out') than lots of inadequates.

What should I put there instead? I have literally no idea where to start looking!

Look at adding an espalier fruit tree against the wall.

if you don’t like the tree, consider getting rid and replacing with another fruit that you do like. I think cherry is nice

The best thing I did in my garden was get rid of the crab apple tree. Keeping on top of the fallen fruit was like having a part-time job. It looked pretty but was an absolute pain.

Which direction does that corner of the garden face? The best plants will depend on whether it's more shady or sunny.

I have literally no idea where to start looking!
You will find that, quite often, the answer is The Middle Sized Garden!
Here's a link to Alexandra's blog and video on trees. In particular see her picture of her Magnolia Grandiflora which blocks a street light but the canopy (leaves) is raised (chopped back) so you see only branches lower down, and therefore the fence and border beneath it are still visible..
Another video about design.

@starlingdarling the main wall in my pic is south west facing, so it gets a lot of sun from morning until mid afternoon.

@senua Thanks for the links, very useful information and lots to think about!

Alexandra is a favourite on here. She is good at explaining things or asking the right question (trained as a journalist) and very practical.
She doesn't ponce about with exotic plant choices (the equivalent of designing your bathroom based on the colour of the towels) but thinks about important design concepts (do I want a bath or a shower? The placing of the toilet is pre-determined by the soilstack, so don't bother fighting that battle. Are those tiles sensible if you have small DC. How do I get privacy? etc etc).

Trying to clear the area but haven’t got a clue about garden design.
You have, but don't realise it. Treat it like designing any other room in your house. What are the important functions that you want/need from this area- what is it that your garden missing (seating, fruit&veg, play area, shed, etc)? What are your limiting factors? What do you want to highlight / hide? What is the focal feature? Think about where to place things; get interest from height, texture.
Design the skeleton (hard landscaping) and the rest (planting) flows from there.
You can do it!

Have you thought about growing fruit and veg?
The preparations would be the same but instead of shrubs and flowers you'd grow food. It's not pretty but it's very rewarding.